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Democrat FY08 budget raises taxes by $217 billion over five years

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) today voted against the Democrat 2008 federal budget, which allows for a $217 billion tax increase—the second largest in the country’s history. Rep. Foxx cited concerns with a provision in the bill which allows Congress to raise taxes even more should spending outstrip tax receipts in the coming years.

“The Democrats’ budget puts us on a dangerous, slippery slope,” Foxx said. “First, it raises taxes by $217 billion. Then it allows Congress to completely eliminate the Republican tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 if fiscal restraint proves too difficult. I simply don’t understand why we need a budget that gives Congress carte blanche to tax Americans whenever it wants to spend a new pile of cash.”

Federal spending on non-defense domestic programs will increase by $22 billion more than the 2007 budget. The budget includes additional promises of $190 billion in new spending over the next five years—despite an absence of funds to pay for the promised spending. The Democrat budget also fails to comply with the Pay-As-You-Go rule they adopted at the beginning of this Congress. Contrary to their rule, any tax cuts would be financed out of budget surpluses, and not with new savings.

“The Democrats have thrown fiscal restraint out the window again,” Foxx said. “With tens of billions in new spending this year and promises of much, much more to come it’s almost impossible to believe Democrat promises of fiscal responsibility.”

“As if raising taxes wasn’t enough, the Democrats have ignored one of our biggest domestic challenges,” Rep Foxx said. “Despite warnings from a chorus of experts that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security desperately need reform, this budget does nothing to address the long term problems we are facing.”

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