WASHINGTON – Ron Johnson (R-WI) released the following statement today after cosponsoring the CAP Act, which was introduced by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO):

“We are currently debating spending cuts to the federal budget of a few billion dollars, when our debt and deficits are measured in the trillions.  Unless we get serious about our fiscal crisis, we will pass a crushing burden of debt on to our children and grandchildren.  We are committing intergenerational theft.  It is wrong, it is immoral, and it must stop.

“Economic growth is a critical component to solving this problem.  Until we have a credible plan for spending restraint, consumers and businesses will not have the renewed confidence they need to spur investment and job creation.

“Senator Corker’s CAP Act is the first step in establishing that credible spending plan.  It will provide the hard spending cap needed to enforce fiscal discipline and restrain the growth in government. I am happy to cosponsor this important piece of legislation.”

The CAP Act would:

(1) Put in place a 10-year glide path to cap all spending – discretionary and mandatory – to a declining percentage of the country’s gross domestic product, eventually bringing spending down from the current level, 24.7 percent of GDP, to the 40-year historical level of 20.6 percent, and

(2) If Congress fails to meet the annual cap, require the Office of Management and Budget to make evenly distributed, simultaneous cuts throughout the federal budget to bring spending down to the pre-determined level. Only a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress could override the binding cap, and

(3) For the first time, eliminate the deceptive “off-budget” distinction for Social Security – providing a complete and accurate assessment of all federal spending.

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