Club for Growth: Congress Must Offset Harvey Spending; Urges Separate Consideration of Debt Ceiling Increase
“Opportunistic politicians are using this tragedy as a blank check to fund pet projects. They are exploiting victims to hand out pork — it’s despicable.”
Washington, DC – Today, Club for Growth President David McIntosh issued the following statement in response to press reports that the House of Representatives and the Senate this week will likely vote on a Harvey spending bill and a debt ceiling increase. The House is expected to vote on the Harvey relief bill as early as this Wednesday. The vote will be included in the Club for Growth’s 2017 Congressional Scorecard:
“The events last week in Houston were devastating, but even before the murky waters in Texas have fully receded, Congress is already up to its old shenanigans,” stated Club for Growth President David McIntosh.
“That’s because when special interests and lobbyists hear the magic words ‘emergency spending’ their eyes light up like a kid at Christmas-time. Instead of reserving emergency funds for those in greatest need of assistance, opportunistic politicians are using this tragedy as a blank check to fund pet projects all over the country. They are exploiting victims to hand out pork — it’s despicable.
“Club for Growth has long fought for offsetting emergency spending for natural disasters and will continue to do so. Disasters like Harvey may be unpredictable, but we know with 100 percent certainty that they will occur. Congress needs to stop using the ‘emergency’ label as an excuse for politicians to spend money without paying for it. All disaster relief should always be paid for. Period.”
With regard to the debt ceiling increase, David McIntosh noted, “The idea of coupling an increase in the debt ceiling with a Harvey spending bill is equally abhorrent. For months, Secretary Mnuchin advocated for a clean debt ceiling. That measure – increasing our nation’s spending ability without significant structural reforms – was reckless enough on its own. But now, with the Senate’s intention to add Harvey spending to a debt ceiling increase, even calling it a ‘clean’ increase is a misnomer; this action is dirtier than ever.”
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