Politically Convenient Flip-Flop Won’t Make Up For Rubber-Stamp Support Of Obama’s Reckless Spending Spree, Record-High Debt 

Despite rubber-stamping nearly every major spending initiative proposed by President Barack Obama — a liberal spending spree that has driven our national debt to a record-high $15 trillion in what CBS News reports is “the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president” — liberal Congressman Joe Donnelly (D-IN) today attempted to distract voters from his big-spending record with an election-cycle flip-flop to support a balanced federal budget.

Notably, today’s $15 trillion national debt represents more than $48,000 owed for every American man, woman and child — a 74 percent increase since Donnelly first came to Washington in January 2007 with our national debt at $8.6 trillion.

“While families and businesses in Indiana have been making hard choices to live within their means, Joe Donnelly and President Obama have been on a reckless spending spree in Washington, racking up debt at a record pace,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh today.  “Donnelly’s sudden election-cycle conversion won’t distract Hoosiers from his liberal record of heaping mountains of debt on future generations with his irresponsible spending in Washington.”

BACKGROUND…. 

THE NATIONAL DEBT HAS HIT THE $15 TRILLION MARK 

The National Debt Is Now $15.0 Trillion Dollars. (US Department Of The Treasury, TreasuryDirect.gov, Accessed 11/16/11)

Since President Obama Took Office And Senate Democrats Rubberstamped His Spending Agenda, The National Debt Has Risen $4.4 Trillion, An Increase Of Over 41 Percent. (US Department Of The Treasury, TreasuryDirect.gov, Accessed 11/16/11)·

HOW MUCH IS $15 TRILLION?

$15 Trillion Is More Than The Value Of All The Goods And Services Produced In The United States Last Year. (“Gross Domestic Product,” Bureau Of Economic Analysis, BEA.gov, Accessed 11/3/11)

In FY2010, The Bureau Of Engraving And Printing Produced $974 Million Worth Of Currency. At That Rate, It Would Take 15,400 Years To Print $15 Trillion. (“Annual Production Figures,” Bureau Of Engraving And Printing, Accessed 11/3/11)

·         It Would Take The Average Household Over 300 Million Years To Pay Off The National Debt On Their Own.(Press Release, “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010,” US Census Bureau, 9/13/11)

To Pay Off $15 Trillion In Debt, The Federal Government Would Have To Devote Every Dollar Of Revenue To Paying Off The Debt For 6.5 Years. (“Monthly Budget Review,” Congressional Budget Office, 10/7/11)

PRIOR TO RUBBER-STAMPING THE OBAMA SPENDING SPREE, DONNELLY PRESENTED HIMSELF AS A FISCAL HAWK…

2006: Donnelly: “We Don’t Have A Right To Pass These Deficits On To Our Children – We Need To Deal With Them.” (Joe Donnelly, Debate, 10/21/06, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIZjCspM13E)

2006: Donnelly: “Reduction Of The Debt Is Critical To The Financial Security Of This Nation And It Is Also Critical To The National Security Of This Nation. Much Of The Debt We Run Up Each Year Is Bought Up By China, Which Does Not Have Our Best Interests At Heart. China Is An Adversary And It Is Extraordinarily Dangerous For Us To Be Financing Our Debt This Way. … We Need To Reduce The Debt, Have A Balanced Budget And Go Back To The Times Of Surplus That We Had In The Late 1990s.” (James Wensits, “Chocola, Donnelly Weigh In,” South Bend Tribune, 9/25/06)

In 2006, Donnelly Said He Would “Resist Pressure From All Sides To Increase Spending Or To Increase Taxes,” And He Was Endorsed By A Group “Concerned With Balancing The Budget.”  Joe Donnelly: “We must work consistently to be fiscally responsible and to reduce the federal deficit. I will resist pressure from all sides to increase spending or to increase taxes. There are many ways we can save money including elimination wasteful projects such as the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ in Alaska and eliminating tax giveaways to corporate special interests. I have been endorsed by the Blue Dog Democrats, which is a coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats concerned about balancing the budget.” (“U.S. House Of Representatives, District 2,” Journal and Courier [Lafayette, IN], 10/27/06)