Rep. Rob Woodall Rejects Senate's Fiscal Cliff "Deal"

U.S. Representative Rob Woodall (R-GA-07) issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 8, a bill to address the so-called “fiscal cliff.”  Rep. Woodall voted for the original proposal in August but voted against the bill as amended by the Senate on Monday, Jan. 1.

The Senate’s bill is all dessert and no vegetables.  It puts into permanent law the campaign promise on which President Obama ran: ‘You can have all the government that you desire and you won’t be asked to pay even a penny for it.’  That promise is destroying America, and I will fight it with every fiber of my being.

Spending is the problem in Washington, not tax revenue.  Yet the Senate's bill does nothing to curtail spending.  In fact, it both eliminates previously passed spending reductions in some areas and chooses to create new and additional spending in others.”

Knowing that my district will rarely get everything it wants from this President and this Senate, I have always promised my constituents that I would take the small steps that I could get today in order to create a better fiscal future tomorrow.  When I am presented with a choice between a small step forward and nothing at all, I will always take the small step forward, knowing that I can saddle-up again tomorrow and try to get the rest.  But this bill--which chooses to spend even more rather than save even a penny less--does not meet the 'step forward' test.   

The Senate’s eleventh-hour deal fails to take even a baby step toward addressing America’s real problem—out of control federal spending.  In fact, it makes the spending problem worse.  Instead of coming together to work on spending, the President has focused all of his energy on raising income taxes.   Washington must do what all American families pressed against hard financial times do—cut spending.   My commitment is to continue to work with courageous partners on both sides of the aisle to do what must be done.  Working together, we can ensure that America’s best days are still ahead.

Other articles you may find helpful:

• Should the FairTax Solution be Part of Fiscal Cliff Negotiations?
• Rep. Rob Woodall: "Washington Has a Spending Problem"
• Rep. Rob Woodall: "I Will Not be Complicit in Kicking the Can Down the Road"