For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                                             Contact: Press Office
May 18, 2011                                                                                                                                                                                                            

After Democrats Max Out the Credit Card, Hinojosa Content to Ask for More

Texas Democrat Seems to Embrace Party Leaders Calling for More Unpopular Taxes or Cuts to Medicare and Social Security

Washington --- As the Democrats finally maxed out their government spending credit card Monday, Ruben Hinojosa continued to stand with his party leaders in failing to offer any viable long-term solution. Hinojosa's Democrat leaders are offering nothing but flawed, ineffective and deeply unpopular plans to raise taxes and destroy jobs. However, Hinojosa continues to stand with them as they criticize the only serious proposals to effectively reduce our national debt while saving Medicare from bankruptcy.

“Ruben Hinojosa and his fellow Democrats went on a spending spree and now their credit card is maxed out,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Instead of recognizing that voters want leaders in Washington to get serious and force the government to live within its means, Hinojosa and his fellow Democrats are asking for more taxpayer money with absolutely no assurance that they are finally willing to spend it responsibly.  What’s even more insulting is that they continue to offer unworkable and unpopular solutions, such as raising trillions of dollars in taxes and cutting programs that Texas seniors rely on like Medicare and Social Security.”

The Democrats maxed out their government spending credit card on Monday after years of reckless spending:

“The United States government hit its $14 trillion borrowing limit Monday, forcing the Treasury Department to begin taking a series of extreme steps to stave off default, including suspending payments into public employee pension plans.” (Meredith Shiner, “U.S. hits debt ceiling,” Politico, 5/16/11)

A new poll on Monday showed the Democrats’ ideas were basically a non-starter among voters:

“Presented with a menu of choices to help curb the national debt and federal deficit, almost half of voters — 45 percent — support spending cuts alone, the poll indicates. By contrast, only 13 percent favor an even split between cutting spending and raising revenue through tax increases.”

“Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) insisted last week that taxes were ‘off the table’ in negotiations over the deficit. By contrast, prominent Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) have advocated a 50-50 split between tax increases and spending cuts.” (Niall Stanage, “THE HILL POLL: Voters find recession blues difficult to shake,” The Hill’s Ballot Box Blog, 5/16/11)

House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi weighed in with additional unpopular ideas, saying cuts to Medicare and Social Security were also options:

“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday agreed that everything should be put on the table in an effort to reduce the deficit, including entitlements like Medicare and Social Security. ‘Yes,’ she said in a CNBC interview in New York, when asked whether entitlements should be a part of the deficit solution.” (Pete Kasperowicz and Daniel Strauss, “Pelosi: Everything should be on the table to reduce federal deficit,” The Hill’s Floor Action Blog, 5/16/11)

Even though the Democrats have now maxed out their government credit card after embarking on their spending spree, Ruben Hinojosa refuses to offer any kind of workable solution to avoid a fiscal catastrophe. Instead, Hinojosa stands by his party leaders who continue to offer devastating ideas such as trillions of dollars in new taxes or even cutting Medicare and Social Security.