Wednesday morning Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY) took to the floor of the House of Representatives to read a letter from 13 year-old Jeremy Vaitas, a constituent of hers from Middletown, New York. Jeremy wrote:
As a 13 year-old boy in 7th grade I am concerned about my future. Currently the national debt is $14 trillion, $16 billion, $110 million, $552 thousand, $952 dollars, and five cents. My self and every other citizen will have to pay $45,241 to eliminate this debt. My parents struggle with money. And I am afraid that I will struggle even more and not be able to own a home, buy a car, or provide for a family someday. I feel the only way to reduce the national debt is to reduce the amount of money the government is spending.
Jeremy is right: the national debt is a threat to his economic future and cutting spending is the only way we can stop that debt from growing. This week House Republicans are attempting to live up to their pledge to cut $100 billion from the federal government’s current fiscal year 2011 budget. We have identified many areas for them to cut here. We are making the case for specific spending cuts here. Substantive cuts this year, like the ones conservatives are fighting for in the House, are imperative to get spending and deficits down and build momentum for additional spending reforms in 2012.
