During Brown’s Tenure In The Senate Our Debt Has Risen By Over $5 Trillion

In 2006, when Sherrod Brown ran for the U.S. Senate, National Democrats routinely attacked his opponent for raising the national debt limit to $9 trillion.  After serving in the Senate for more than four years, Brown’s policies have pushed our debt to over $14.3 trillion and instead of working towards a reduction in federal spending, Brown now believes that we should not only raise the debt ceiling, but that it should also be tied to tax hikes on American’s domestic energy producers.

Earlier today, Brown joined with some of the Senate’s most liberal Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), in sending a letter outlining his latest stance to Vice President Biden.  Notably, Brown’s renewed support for higher energy taxes comes the same day that the Consumer Confidence Index fell to a six-month low amid growing concerns over the labor market and rising food and gasoline prices.

“It’s astonishing that at a time when gas prices are hovering at $4 per gallon and the national debt has skyrocketed past $14 trillion, Sherrod Brown wants to raise taxes in return for his vote to increase our country’s credit card limit,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox said today.  “When will Senator Brown recognize the problem is not that the federal government taxes too little, but that it spends too much?”