The Burton Blog

Burton Signs On To “Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after signing the “Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge” which promises to oppose any debt limit increase without substantial spending cuts for the upcoming year, caps on federal spending, and a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

“The CBO’s recent economic forecast paints a very sobering picture of what the future holds for our Nation if Washington does not immediately cease spending money it doesn’t have!  The CBO projects by the end of this year, the federal debt will reach roughly 70 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) – the highest percentage since shortly after World War II by the year’s end; which is terrible news for our job seekers and job creators. Furthermore, with U.S. public debt set to reach 100 percent of GDP in 2021, time is beginning to work against us as we try to put our Nation back on course towards fiscal sanity."

“The time for action is now. That is why I have signed the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge” which supports immediate and substantial spending cuts, enforceable spending caps and Congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.  The American people are tired of games being played with their pocketbooks and their futures.  These are the kinds of measures that must be taken to avert a complete debt crisis.”

Background:

The RSC’s “Cut, Cap, and Balance” proposal includes:

1.    Immediate spending cuts to reduce the deficit by half next year.  According to March projections from the Congressional Budget Office, this would require spending cuts of approximately $380 billion in the 2012 fiscal year.

2.    Statutory, enforceable caps that bring spending into line with average revenues.  These caps would ratchet total federal spending down to 18% of GDP over the course of 5-6 years.

3.    House and Senate passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution that includes a spending cap at 18% of GDP and a supermajority requirement for tax increases.  The House Judiciary Committee and all 47 GOP Senators have endorsed Balanced Budget Amendments along these lines.

View the PDF of the signed copy of the pledge.

Burton Blasts Obama Administration For Cutting Non-Union Delphi Worker Pensions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) a senior member on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued the following statement regarding today's Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending Subcommittee hearing on the General Motors bankruptcy and termination of Delphi Corporation's pension plans.

“E-mails uncovered by the Committee, and obtained by the website DailyCaller.com, clearly indicate that the Obama Administration was more deeply involved in the decision-making surrounding the General Motors/Delphi Corporation bankruptcy than previously admitted.  These emails also clearly show that the Administration was deliberately trying to influence GM to make the pensions of their union retirees whole but made no attempt to persuade GM to treat Delphi's salaried retirees similarly.   What is most frustrating is that this unprecedented decision to protect the pensions of some Americans - whom the Administration viewed as natural political allies - at the expense of other Americans was paid for with taxpayers' dollars.

“I thank Chairman Issa, and Subcommittee Chairman Jordan for holding this hearing. Despite the Administration's attempt to stonewall the investigation by instructing their witness Ron Bloom to simply decline to answer questions about the Delphi pension, I am confident that the Committee will continue to fight to uncover the truth.  The salaried retirees have been compelled, not asked but compelled, to bear extra burdens to help restructure the American auto industry. They, along with their families, deserve to know why.  I am not going to stop investigating this matter until I get some answers."

Below is testimony from today’s Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending Subcommittee hearing in which Rep. Burton questions Senior Obama Administration official, Ron Bloom:

Rep. Burton Condemns President Obama’s Abuse of War Powers Resolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement condemning the President's use of military force in Libya without consulting the United States Congress:

“For almost three months now, the American people have waited for a compelling rationale from our President as to why American military forces are in harm's way on Libyan soil.  To this day, we have yet to receive any guidance from the Administration.   And while the President thought it prudent to confer with and seek approval from NATO, the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League, he neither consulted with the United States Congress nor sought its approval for his actions. This decision has placed the President in direct violation of Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution as well as Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution.  The Founder's intentions were abundantly clear when they included this maxim in our Constitution. The President is not a king and he should not be allowed to act like one.

“To quote then- Senator Obama from 2007: ‘The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the Nation.’   For the past two months though 12, 909 US service personnel have been engaged in combat operations against Libya's army at a cost to the US taxpayers of $700 Million and climbing.  Our planes have flown over 200 sorties, fired 228 missiles - 90 percent of the overall total - and dropped 455 bombs.  Yet, President Obama has offered no discernible evidence of the actual or imminent threat to our Nation which prompted him to launch this war.    If we are not there to address an immediate threat to our Nation’s security, then what are we there for?   If the President has seen fit to enter Libya without direction or the approval of Congress, where else could he go; Syria, Yemen or the Ivory Coast?   These are questions that still remain unanswered.

“The President’s actions are arrogant and irresponsible.  We can no longer allow the President to act with impunity when our Nation's fighting men and women's lives are potentially at stake. His refusal to follow the letter or spirit of our Constitution is galling and cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.”

Rep. Burton Votes Against Raising the Debt Ceiling

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after voting against raising our Nation’s debt ceiling this evening:

“As our Nation’s debt continues to spiral out of control, it is foolhardy to believe that we can continue to do business as usual, robbing Peter to pay Paul to the detriment of the American people.  Every single day, there are Hoosiers in my district and Americans across our Nation, who continue to tighten their economic belts in a desperate effort to keep their financial house in order, hoping to fend off the ill effects of a uncertain and increasingly fatigued economy.  Unfortunately, this Administration has seen fit to not follow their laudable example. Instead, the President is opting to make the rules up as he goes along, proposing to raise our debt ceiling in a vain attempt to excuse his irresponsible spending initiatives. 

“We can no longer absorb this kind of debt without engaging dramatic cuts in spending.  I will not vote for any kind of increase in the debt ceiling so long as Washington’s careless spending continues to rage out of control.”

Burton Statement On Memorial Day and Remembering our Nation’s Fallen

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement in observance of this year’s Memorial Day weekend:

“For almost ten years, our Nation’s fighting men and women have been serving bravely to keep us free from terror and in defense of liberty and freedom all over the world.  Yet in the pursuit of those who wish to harm us, many have paid the ultimate price by giving their lives to preserve the freedoms we all cherish. It is to the fallen, and their loved ones, that I wish to extend my deepest heartfelt gratitude. 

“As we attend family picnics, parades and other ceremonies this weekend, I hope all of us remember that, for some, everyday is Memorial Day.  There are families in all of our communities that will always leave the light on for a mother or a father, a brother or a sister or an uncle or an aunt who is not coming home. The words of President Abraham Lincoln ring just as true today as they did in the hallowed Soldier's Cemetery in Gettysburg when he said “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

"Since last Memorial Day, the following Hoosiers perished in the service of our nation:

Clements, Chad, 26, Army 08/30/2010

"My thoughts and prayers remain with our Nation’s heroes and their families, and I speak for the Hoosiers I represent when I say, thank you for serving our Nation and protecting our heritage of freedom."

Rep. Burton: “Israel is a shining beacon of liberty and democracy in the Middle East”

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's, address to a joint session of Congress.

“I sincerely hope President Obama was watching Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech from London because this speech was a powerful reminder that Israel is not the problem in the Middle East.  Israel is a shining beacon of liberty and democracy in the Middle East.  Israel is a model of the kind of free and prosperous society that individuals across the Arab world are fighting and dying to create.  Rather than bow to terrorists and despots the United States should stand shoulder to shoulder with our one true ally and friend Israel.  That means, supporting Israel's right to self-defense; opposing any effort to return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders; and opposing any effort to transform Jerusalem into a divided city."

Rep. Burton Votes to Put the Gulf Back to Work and Expand Domestic Energy Production

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issues the following statement after passage of H.R. 1229 the "Putting the Gulf Back to Work Act" and H.R. 1231 the “Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act”.  These bills, two small pieces of the Republican Majority’s greater American Energy Initiative, would safely end the de facto moratorium on offshore energy production imposed by the Obama Administration as well as direct the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to make drilling leases both readily available and expeditiously processed, putting America firmly on the path to energy independence.

“Americans are enduring gasoline prices near a $4 national average which in turn are hurting families, costing jobs and threatening our Nation’s fragile economic recovery.  Despite the Obama’s Administration’s irresponsible regulations inhibiting the production of domestically produced energy, Republicans have taken action to remove burdensome barriers on home grown energy cultivation that will create job growth, help to lower the costs of gasoline and lead America towards energy independence. 

“I have long been a vocal proponent for more domestic energy production and we can no longer sit on the sidelines while Hoosiers and the rest of America are hurting.  Instead of relying on and subsidizing foreign sources of energy, we should rely on our own.”

Rep. Burton Votes For Energy Independence

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) released the following statement after the House of Representatives approved H.R. 1230, the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act, part of the Republican Majority's American Energy Initiative:

“Rising gasoline prices are hurting Hoosier families and small businesses, costing jobs and threatening our Nation's economic recovery.  However, instead of pursuing policies that will lower the price of oil and gasoline as well as lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy, this Administration has sought to stall and even halt domestic production of oil and natural gas at every turn.  The Administration canceled 77 onshore drilling leases in Utah just weeks after taking office; they have consistently delayed oil shale development; they have repeatedly blocked development of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and they have a de facto drilling moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. 

In 1972, we imported approximately 28% of the oil we consume from foreign countries. Today, the United States imports approximately 62 percent of its oil. The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act helps end this insanity.  The bill expands American energy production and creates jobs by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to conduct oil and natural gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia that have been delayed or cancelled by the Obama Administration.  We can no longer afford to make any available energy resource off limits.  We have the resources and we should use them.

Rep. Burton Statement on the Killing of Osama bin Laden

Indianapolis, IN. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05), senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden.

“Today is a great a day for America.  Our Nation’s greatest enemy has been brought to justice.  But we must never forget those who lost loved ones on that fateful morning of September 11th. 

“I want to commend our Nation’s military, the Navy Seals and the CIA who have sacrificed so much for their work in locating and eliminating Osama bin Laden.

“But the war on terror is not over and the fight against al-Qaeda will continue.  We must remain ever vigilant in keeping our country safe as we continue to pursue those who wish to destroy freedom.

Burton's Heartfelt Response to Navy SEALs

The Kokomo Perspective shares Dan's statement to the Navy SEALs after they were found not guilty.

"My heartfelt congratulations go to Petty Officer McCabe and his family. I know they have endured many stressful months in anticipation of this trial. With all three Navy SEALs now cleared of all charges in this case, I believe this sends a very positive signal to the men and women in uniform who are fighting for America around the world today.

"I join the many thousands of Americans who cheer for SEALs McCabe, Keefe, and Huertas tonight, and on behalf of the 35,000 who signed my petition for these three heroes, I thank them for their honorable service, and welcome them back to duty."