Eric Massa’s Idea of Fiscal Responsibility: White House Ratchets up Deficit Projection by $2 Trillion

FYI a version of this release went out to the following districts: Jason Altmire (PA-04); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Brad Ellsworth (IN-08); John Hall (NY-19); Jim Himes (CT-04); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Eric Massa (NY-29); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Dina Titus (NV-03) and Tim Walz (MN-01).

Eric Massa’s Idea of Fiscal Responsibility: White House Ratchets up Deficit Projection by $2 Trillion

Yet Another Hit Delivered to Democrats’ Big-Spending Agenda

Washington- Eric Massa will surely be backpedaling today as yet another vote for his party’s ongoing government spending spree has come back to bite him. Massa, who voted in favor of his party’s egregious and bloated federal budget, is now on the hook for an additional $2 trillion as the White House attempts to quietly ratchet up its deficit projections in the midst of a slow August news cycle.

“As was reported last week, the Obama administration announced today that it has revised its 10-year cumulative budget deficit projection to around $9.051 trillion, up from its February projection of $7.1 trillion.

“Administration officials said Monday that these numbers put their projection in line with the Congressional Budget Office’s June projection. These out-year deficits are about 4 percent of GDP, which the administration says is ‘higher than desirable.’” (Karen Travers, “White House: Budget Deficit Will Be $2 Trillion Higher than Projected,” ABC News, 8/25/09)

Was this what Massa had in mind just a few short months ago when he cast his vote in favor of yet another one of President Obama’s and Speaker Pelosi’s runaway spending plans? After Massa supported the Democrats’ budget in April, he boldly and hilariously bragged that he had helped strengthen a struggling economy:

“This budget will help bring about a new era of fiscal responsibility, and honest accounting…We inherited a historic financial crisis, but Congress is working to get America back on the path to economic success.” (Press Release, 4/2/09)

“Did Eric Massa recklessly misjudge the economy to the tune of two trillion dollars of deficit or was he simply duped by his party bosses into voting for a budget that they couldn’t pay for?” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Two trillion might not seem like much to someone as out-of-touch as Eric Massa, but the New York families who will be stuck paying down that deficit would probably prefer to disagree. Massa owes an explanation to the folks back home as to why he put a nine trillion dollar deficit on the backs of their children and grandchildren.”

Unfortunately for New York families, it looks like they’ll be stuck paying down Eric Massa’s reckless budget vote for a long time to come.

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