Gerlach votes to reject Obama debt limit increase

U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, who represents Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District, issued the following statement on Monday night's vote by the House of Representatives to reject a request from President Obama to raise the debt limit to $16.7 trillion without any reduction in federal spending:

"When your national debt is $14.3 trillion, increasing the debt limit without demanding a change in Washington's spending habits would be irresponsible. This vote acknowledges that constituents in my district and across the country have said enough is enough. They want honest leadership and a responsible plan for substantial spending cuts. This legislation would have kept us on the unsustainable path toward deeper debt and unrestrained deficit spending.

After years of spending sprees, our $14.3 trillion national debt is as large as our entire economy. This huge debt burden rattles the confidence of small business owners and investors and extinguishes opportunity for current and future generations. The federal government is borrowing more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends right now. Tonight, we let everyone know Washington cannot get away with that kind of reckless spending and that Congress will resist any attempt to raise the debt limit without real solutions for controlling spending."

The bill to raise the debt limit (H.R. 1954) failed when just 97 members of the House voted for it while 318 members voted against it. The federal debt has risen by more than $3 trillion since Obama took office.