Read the Coats Plan for America’s Fiscal Health (PDF)
Read the Coats Plan for Economic Growth and Job Creation (PDF)

It took the United States 200 years to amass one trillion dollars of debt and less than thirty years to go from one trillion to over thirteen trillion.

No country can maintain its status in the world and maintain a vibrant economy with that kind of debt. You can’t do that if you own a home. You can’t do that if you own a business. You can’t do that if you’re running a local community or a state. And you certainly can’t do that on a national basis without serious negative consequences. Yet, Congress has raised our national debt limit five times in the past two years – including three times in 2009.

In just the past year alone, the debt we’ve incurred will have an effect over time in terms of devaluation of the dollar, taking our world credit rating down, and all the consequences that come from a stagnant and failing economy. All the debt and interest that we have to pay is going to affect America now as well as in the future.

We must immediately stop the reckless federal spending mortgaging our children’s and Nation’s future.

One thing I would do is put it straight to Congress. After this election, Congress needs to finally step up and take responsibility by setting a timetable to outline a plan that immediately begins to address this overwhelming problem.

The final solution should include a whole range of ideas such as tax reform, using tried-and-true principles of the past that John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan did to get the economy moving again. But the time is now, and the urgency is here, and there needs to be some hard deadlines, instead of just rhetoric.

Press Releases on Debt:
Obama Didn’t Care About Debt When He Signed (4/28/10)

Cong. Ellsworth Supports Massive, Radical, Expensive Fed Power Grab (3/22/10)