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Williams' statement on House passage of Reid/McConnell plan

October 16, 2013

Congressman Williams (TX-25) released the following statement after the House voted to approve the Reid/McConnell plan which will reopen the government and raise the debt limit.

“In 2012, I promised the constituents of Texas’ 25th Congressional District that I would value their votes and I would vote their values. And that's what I have done every single day in Congress. The families and small businesses of TX-25 don't get to borrow money recklessly. And neither should Congress. I oppose this deal to extend the debt ceiling, and I will oppose any deal that does not require spending cuts.

“As far as I’m concerned, President Obama and Harry Reid are getting exactly what they want. A debt ceiling increase with no corresponding spending cuts. No relief for families and individuals subject to the Obamacare individual mandate. And most egregious, the Obama Administration went out of its way, and spent additional taxpayer dollars, to bully veterans, travelers, grieving military families, and sick children along the way.

“This so-called solution is setting us up to have these same fights in just a few months. If a government shutdown and a fast-approaching debt limit is not cause enough for Senate Democrats and the White House to make vital spending cuts and put our nation on a track towards fiscal responsibility, I don’t know what is cause enough.

“The ever-growing deficit is the biggest problem facing America. If we don’t address the root of the problem – out-of-control spending – we will find ourselves in this spot year after year, and we will never catch up. There has to be a stopping point. This should have been the stopping point.

“Even more, the House gave Harry Reid numerous opportunities to make positive changes for families across the country whose health insurance plans have vanished and are replaced with expensive, restrictive plans that place bureaucrats in the middle of our personal medical decisions. Obamacare hurts families, it cripples businesses, and it does very little to insure those who are uninsured. We need patient-centered, market driven reforms. For starters, individuals need to own their own health care, the private sector should be given more control of healthcare, and no single government program should ever comprise 1/6 of the national economy.

“Until Obama signs himself up for a plan under Obamacare, nobody in America should be required to. The President, of all people, should lead by example and not exempt himself from this disaster.

“It’s time to stop legislating from crisis to crisis. We need to get back to regular order and pass a budget that cuts, balances, and doesn’t increase our debt, and we need to continue to fight for families and businesses struggling to comply with Obamacare. America is the greatest country in the world, and we keep it that way by empowering the people, not the government.”

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