Lindsay Graham on Debt Deal

I cannot in good conscience support this deal.

Simply stated, it locks us into more debt, bigger government
and most devastating of all, a weakened Defense infrastructure
at a time when threats to our nation are increasing, not
decreasing.

This agreement still adds over $7 trillion in new debt over the
next decade and only makes small reductions in future spending.
We hardly address the future growth of entitlements, a major
contributor of future budgetary problems.

Instead of our nation running toward bankruptcy we will be
walking toward bankruptcy.

The only part of our nation’s budget which is really exposed to
serious consequences is the Department of Defense. Their budget
could be reduced by nearly $1 trillion under this plan. And if
these proposed cuts ever become reality, the biggest loser will
be our men and women in uniform.

I firmly believe defense spending should be placed under a
microscope and we can find savings. However, this agreement
places Defense on the chopping block and slowly moves the
Republican Party away from the Reagan model of a strong national
defense. I fear it legitimizes the concept that Defense spending
is not only equal to other areas of federal spending, but is of
lesser importance.

The U.S. Constitution's preamble is unequivocal where it states
one of the federal government’s primary responsibilities is to
“provide for the common defence.” I fear this deal could
ultimately weaken that principle.

I always believed we have to raise our nation’s debt-ceiling but
should do so in a responsible manner. I strongly supported Cut,
Cap and Balance and will continue to work for passage of a
Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. I thought we
could have raised the debt-ceiling for a period of nine months,
the historical average since 1940, accompanied by a
dollar-to-dollar spending cut to debt-ceiling increase while we
work to enact these important structural changes to the way the
government operates.

The debt-limit debate offered us a prime opportunity to finally
stop kicking the can down the road and bring discipline to the
way Congress spends.

Because of our $14.5 trillion and growing national debt, we are
in jeopardy of losing the American Dream where children are able
to do better than their parents.

Unfortunately, I fear we will see that this agreement does not
really move the needle when it comes to reducing government
spending.

For these reasons, I vote No.