April 12, 2018

Today Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District released the following statement on the House vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution: 

“In theory, a balanced budget amendment is a good idea. I operated under a balanced budget amendment for 20 years when I was in the State Legislature. But this is not about fiscal responsibility; this is all smoke and mirrors by the Republicans in an attempt to cover up the nearly $2 trillion in deficits caused by their tax scam for the wealthy and ballooning defense spending. It will also help Republicans justify deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and other critical safety net programs.

Not only was Las Vegas was one of the hardest hit communities during the Great Recession, but some 453,000 Nevadans rely on Medicare, more than 521,000 are Social Security beneficiaries, and over 631,000 have access to health coverage through Medicaid. A balanced budget amendment that exacerbates recessions, shortens periods of economic growth, and decimates Medicare, Social Security, and military and civil service retirement systems would be a devastating blow to my constituents.

If Republicans were really serious about fiscal responsibility, they would look at the President’s expenses to travel to Mar-a-Lago nearly every weekend and his Cabinet’s frivolous use of taxpayer dollars on dining sets, office doors, and first-class plane tickets.”