Congress Freshman Ellmers Speaks

Dear Friend,

Our time is now. This is the moment where we as a country must make the difficult decisions and fight the good fight.

This crisis did not begin last week or even a few months ago. It is the result of decades of wasteful spending at the hands of the very people entrusted to preserve our union and protect our economic future. But today, that game is over.

With only four days left before our nation faces an unprecedented default on our debt, President Obama still has no plan. At this crucial hour he has passed the buck and refused to take responsibility for the office he holds. His lack of leadership is glaring. In this, the most serious economic crisis in recent years, our president has failed to lead. But here in the House of Representatives, we are more than happy to take up this task and rescue our economy from disaster.

To date we have proposed and passed countless bills to cut spending and cap the growth of the federal government, each time being ignored or rejected by Harry Reid and President Obama. Just last week we passed a historic bill known as Cut, Cap and Balance which I was proud to co-sponsor. Along with my freshman colleagues, I traveled to the floor of the Senate to watch as Harry Reid and his liberal allies voted to let our bill die a slow death. I was there to look each Senator in the eye as they submitted their votes and watched in astonishment as they once again failed to do their job, just as they have for over 800 days without passing a budget.

So now the President has resorted to hunkering down at the White House, leaving the tough decisions to Congress. Every now and then we hear from him on TV, begging Americans to call on Congress like a child asking one parent to convince the other to use their credit card. While job creators are struggling to make payroll and forced to make layoffs, the President marches on with his tax, spend and borrow policies that will only kill more jobs and continue to stifle economic growth.

I was proud to support and co-sponsor Cut, Cap and Balance and believe it holds long-term potential. Throughout this debate I have been clear and firm on what needs to happen in order to raise the debt ceiling: spending cuts must be greater than the amount of debt raised and tax increases are unacceptable. We don't have a revenue problem Mr. President, we have a spending problem.

We are engaged in a war on spending that started years before this crisis and will be waged for years to come. This current conflict over the national debt is the latest battle in the spending war that can and must be won. The Budget Control Act put forth by Speaker Boehner is not perfect, and as I have come to find throughout my life, few things are. This plan is the best step going forward and will keep our common sense, conservative principles at the table while keeping us engaged throughout these negotiations. I am proud to support Speaker Boehner and my Republican colleagues in this fight and will continue to fight each and every day to cut spending, protect job creators, and give Americans the resources to make our economy prosperous again. I will not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.