In the post, Katie Wright, Allen spokesperson, said to The Post:
“George Allen commends Congressman Ryan for offering a thoughtful plan that has started a much needed debate,” Wright said. “If Allen was in the Senate he would offer his own ideas to get a balanced budget with a stronger economy sooner than the Ryan plan. It is crucial that decisions are made now for the fiscal and economic health of our country. For nearly 25 months we have seen Democrats continue to spend and borrow at dangerous levels without passing, much less proposing a real budget solution.”
The Post made it appear as if Allen wouldn’t say what he would do, if the Ryan plan were not the best option. So, while The Post did not follow up with Allen, I did. I asked him what were his ideas to balance the budget and grow the economy.
Allen’s campaign responded by offering this detailed commentary, which is likely a preview of his platform that will be released in the coming weeks:
George Allen’s believes that balancing the federal budget will require a combination of fiscal discipline to rein in the overreaching, overspending federal government and a commitment to growing the economy, not the government, by making America competitive for jobs and investment.
The problem with the federal budget is not that revenues are too low, but that spending is far too high. Traditionally, the federal government has spent 18-20 percent of GDP. This year the President submitted a budget with spending projected at more than 25 percent of GDP. George Allen believes spending needs to be brought back down to historical levels, and kept there – with real tools with real teeth. He has fought for and supports a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget with taxpayer protection and line-item veto authority to give the President has the same authority he and other governors have to cut our wasteful spending. He also advocates the Paycheck Penalty Act that would withhold Members’ salaries when they don’t pass budgets on time.
The General Accounting Office recently came out with a report that confirms what most Virginians already know – that the federal government’s budget is bloated with duplication and hundreds of billions of dollars of waste. George Allen wants to consolidate or eliminate wasteful, duplicative programs and save billions of wasted taxpayer dollars. His ideas for reining in spending include pursuing government management reforms similar to those recommended by the Blue Ribbon Task Force that he commissioned as Governor of Virginia; reversing the excesses of the Obama Administration – from Obamacare and its unconstitutional mandates to the unelected, unaccountable “Czars” and the proliferation of new regulators at the EPA, IRS and elsewhere who are helping fuel the regulatory excesses that are burdening our families and our economy.
During his service as Governor, George Allen transformed the Virginia’s initiative-sapping welfare program to reflect values of the work ethic and individual responsibility, saving taxpayers money and putting people on the path of leading independent, self-reliant lives – an initiative that helped model federal welfare reform. There are other federal programs that George Allen believes could be improved through similar reforms to return decision-making to the people in the States, where it belongs, including Medicaid as well as Education programs.
George Allen passionately wants to unleash America’s plentiful energy resources and creativity. Removing the self-imposed barriers to safe and responsible production of American energy from American resources will generate jobs for Americans and promote U.S. energy freedom. It also has the effect of adding to the Treasury through lease sales, royalties, and increased tax revenues generated by the increased economic activity.
To make the United States the best place in the world to invest and create jobs, George Allen would apply the successful principles that helped Virginia add over 310,000 net new private-sector jobs during his term as Governor. This includes making sure that America’s tax rate on job-creating businesses is competitive for attracting investment, stopping EPA’s job-killing regulations on CO2, protecting our liberty through our Right-to-Work laws, and ensuring that Congress votes any rule coming from the federal bureaucracy that has a significant impact on jobs and the economy.
In fairness, I also asked the other campaigns point blank whether or not they supported the Ryan budget plan.
From David McCormick:
“I have major concerns with both the Obama and Ryan budget proposals. That is why I introduced the McCormick Balanced Budget Plan this week that would put our fiscal house in order. My plan balances the budget by 2017 and pays off the entire Federal debt by 2033. The Ryan budget does not balance for more than 50 years, and is based on overly optimistic revenue growth projections. For these reasons, I would not support the Ryan budget.”
From E.W. Jackson:
“The Ryan and Obama budgets differ only on technicalities. The budget negotiations should not be over cutting programs and agencies, but of eliminating entire departments. We have a government that coddles the citizenry from cradle to grave and unless we restore the proper role of government, the spending will continue to grow. I am supportive of almost any measure to cut government spending, but I would ask my challengers and the Republican leadership to consider the true meaning of a ‘wise and frugal government.'”
When pressed, the Jackson campaign was also explicit in saying they do not support the Ryan budget.
From Tim Donner, it appears he would support the Ryan plan:
“We should all be grateful to Congressman Ryan for the courage he has exhibited, and his willingness to tackle an issue that few, if any, politicians in our lifetime have been willing even to address. He has done so in a forthright and honest fashion. We can not rebuild America’s economic credibility until we as a people and Congress are willing to consider 100% of the budget, and debate the type of bold reforms that are no longer optional, but vital. So, while the Ryan budget plan is not perfect – no budget plans are – and considering the Democrat’s same old tired, failed approach of raising taxes on the wealthy, I support both Congressman Ryan’s plan and the path to sustainability and reduced government dependency on which it sets America.”
Jamie Radtke’s campaign did not respond at the time of this posting.
Regardless, Senator Mark Warner, who is not involved in these hypotheticals but is actively involved in producing a budget with the so-called “Gang of Six” (which is now five with Senator Tom Coburn opting out), the beat goes on.
According to Kevin Hall, Warner’s spokesperson:
“The five remaining members of the ‘Gang of Six’ continue to meet and discuss a framework for introducing legislation to implement recommendations of the Fiscal Commission. Senator Warner believes the best prospects for a serious, comprehensive plan should be bipartisan – should put everything on the table – and should begin this year.”
