Drafting Responsible Budgets with Transparency and Accountability

For too long, our national debt has continued to spiral out of control, and Congress has been fueling the fire. I’ve often said that politicians in Washington should take a lesson from our small businesses and working families, who have been doing more with less for years now.

Throughout my career, I worked with small and medium-sized businesses. I helped companies across many industries grow and succeed, and I know that budgets matter. That’s why in Congress I voted for the No Budget, No Pay Act, which would take away pay for members of Congress if they failed to pass a budget.

I also voted for the budget compromise passed by Congress in 2013. This was the first budget Congress passed in three years (and the first by a divided Congress since 1987).  The agreement provided critical funding for important projects, including those that protect the Great Lakes and provide job training for the unemployed. Like all compromises, no one got everything they wanted, but both sides found common ground in order to provide the certainty and progress that our constituents want and small businesses demand.