Arkansas' 6 in D.C. slam plan as reckless

WASHINGTON -- The six Republicans who make up Arkansas' congressional delegation blasted Democratic President Barack Obama's proposed $4 trillion budget, portraying it as fiscally irresponsible.

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Each member released written statements denouncing the White House blueprint. Third District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers also released a video.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers called it "completely unrealistic given our nation's unsustainable fiscal path." If approved, it will "add more debt, raise taxes and increase the deficit," he said.

"Washington has a spending problem. It's unfortunate that the President is unwilling to work with Congress to reverse this pattern," Boozman said. Obama's budget "threatens our long-term economic growth and forces hardworking Americans to pay for his priorities with job-killing tax increases."

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle accused Obama of undermining the nation's armed forces.

"It's clear that seven years as Commander-in-Chief have taught President Obama little about what it takes to actually keep America safe and defend our place in the world," said Cotton, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq before winning election to Congress.

The first-term senator said Obama's spending plan is "ignorant and hypocritical. After spending months talking tough about taking on our enemies around the world, he wants to spend $10.3 billion less to sustain a military that is undergoing a manning, readiness, and modernization crisis. Once again his rhetoric doesn't match reality."

Arkansans in the U.S. House of Representatives also panned the proposal.

"This budget is a reiteration of his liberal, government-knows-best policy agenda and offers no solution to balance the budget and solve our debt crisis," said 2nd District U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock. "Reversing our current fiscal course will be a monumental undertaking that won't be completed unless we have a president whose priorities match those of the American people and the Congress."

Fourth District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs said he's still reviewing the 2,000-page document "but already I can see the president is not working in reality but instead has created a budget based in fantasy."

The budget, he said, is bad for America. "The president called this budget 'a roadmap to a future that embodies America's values and aspirations.' How does the president's proposed $6.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next decade embody America's values and aspirations? His proposed budget, which is a non-starter, would continue a policy that will further mortgage America's future if it were implemented."

First District U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro said the national debt will be nearly twice as large when Obama moves out of the White House as when he moved in.

"This President's final budget, full of the same old tax-and-spend policy proposals, employs methods from the past in an attempt to answer tomorrow's problems. This administration simply won't acknowledge the fact that Americans are tired of tax-and-spend policies and a rising national debt, which has swollen during the last 7 years from $10.6 trillion to $19 trillion. I would have liked to see, but didn't expect, an attempt at true spending reform," he said.

In his video, Womack said Obama's plan envisions a decade's worth of tax increases accompanied by runaway spending.

It "represents an increase in spending of $2.5 trillion over the 10-year window, and it raises taxes on hardworking Americans by nearly $3.5 trillion over the same 10-year window," Womack said, adding, "As a member of the budget committee and an appropriator, I'm committed to working with my colleagues to present a clear alternative to the President's completely unrealistic budget proposal."

A Section on 02/10/2016

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