Jeb Hensarling Quotes

The deficit had become a symbol of our inability to control and manage the cost of government.

The fact is, almost every year since the founding of these United States, our government has lived beyond its means.

We can have tax cuts, but when we have tax cuts and do not have a surplus, the amount of the tax cut goes straight to the bottom line, adds to the deficit, and the deficit adds to the national debt, and sooner or later, the debt has to be paid.

Every American knows there are government expenses that are absolutely not necessary. I disagree with the very idea that our government is spending $2.4 trillion in the most efficient manner.

It is day after day in this institution, borrow money, run up the debt, run up the deficits and then with a straight face say, we are going to repeal a tax that affects 1 percent of the American people, just 1 percent of the American people.

Obama did inherit a deficit when he came into office. Why this fact justifies racking up vastly more debt and bigger deficits is a logical mystery.

We do ourselves a disservice when some of us cave to the myth that Social Security somehow drives the deficit.

When George W. Bush entered office, the national debt was $5 trillion. When he left, it was $10 trillion. I think the administration spent too much money.

Politicians are addicted to spending and revenue extraction. As with an addict, there's little pause for moral or legal contemplation.

One of the most lethal mistakes a public official can make is raising taxes and not paying your own.

Federal spending is atrocious.

Well, a deficit reflects an imbalance between spending and revenue, and so narrowing it requires acting on one, the other or both.

We have a serious structural deficit problem. And it needs to be addressed. The president is trying to address it through reforms of Social Security, but the problem is there with other entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Our system of keeping the federal government's books is a monument to the creativity of mankind ... We've cut government spending for 15 years in a row, and yet have spent more money in each of those years.

To deal with entitlements we must either raise taxes, cut benefits, or borrow inordinate amounts of money.

The first order of business is the elimination of the annual deficit.

The easiest thing that is done, unfortunately, in Washington is to spend money today and send the bill to our children and grandchildren.

We have to deal with the nation's debt.

We don't spend money properly in Washington, D.C. We jump these massive bills to massive bills.

Having billions of dollars immediately available to plug budget holes without raising taxes is very appealing. And to the delight of Wall Street investors, state and local governments often fail to ask the important questions or consider the long-term impact.

If you're worried about the deficit, pay attention to the fact that it's almost all attributable to military spending and the totally dysfunctional health program.

We want to make sure that tax reform doesn't increase the size of the deficit.

This country doesn't have a revenue problem - it has a spending problem.

American voters should understand that Congress will always find a way to spend every last dollar sent to Washington. Remember, politicians get votes by promising everything to everyone, always at the expense of some other invisible taxpayers. ...The federal government cannot maintain a budget surplus any more than an alcoholic can leave a fresh bottle of whiskey untouched in the cupboard.

When you see what the deficit is, then you have to do something about it.