Romney Campaign Press Release - Obama's Trillion-Dollar Broken Promise

"Three years ago, President Obama promised to get spending under control and cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. That is a promise he has not kept. This will be America's fourth consecutive year of running a trillion-dollar deficit. On top of that, the President has proposed a massive tax increase and offered no serious reforms to our entitlement programs. President Obama has not been up to the job of getting our fiscal house in order." —Mitt Romney

Three Years Ago, President Obama Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term:

President Obama, In 2009: "Today I'm Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half By The End Of My First Term In Office." OBAMA: "[T]oday I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office. This will not be easy. It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we've long neglected. But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay — and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control." (President Barack Obama, Remarks, 2/23/09)

The Administration Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half "Honestly And Candidly." "This is big — the President today promised that by the end of his first term, he will cut in half the massive federal deficit we've inherited. And we'll do it in a new way: honestly and candidly." (Macon Phillips, The White House Blog, 2/23/09)

Three Years Later, President Obama Has Broken That Promise With Another Bloated, Big-Spending Budget That Contains A Massive Tax Increase And Takes No Meaningful Steps Toward Entitlement Reform:

President Obama's Latest Budget Breaks His Pledge And "Does Not Come Close" To Cutting The Deficit In Half. "The 2013 budget the president submitted today does not come close to meeting this promise of being reduced to $650 billion for fiscal year 2013. The president noted in that 2009 speech the Obama administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit. The deficit was similarly $1.3 trillion in 2011, is projected to be $1.15 trillion in 2012, and the president's budget claims it will be $901 billion in 2013." (Jack Tapper, "Obama's Broken Deficit Promise," ABC News, 2/13/12)

"Obama's Budget Projects That The Deficit For The Current Year Will Total $1.33 Trillion, The Fourth Straight Year Of Deficits Over $1 Trillion." ("Highlights Of Obama's $3.8 Trillion Budget," The Associated Press, 2/13/12)

President Obama Is Also Proposing A Whopping $1.5 Trillion Tax Increase. "The plan calls for a tax reform package that would increase revenue by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Obama did not offer a detailed plan for tax reform. Instead, he proposed a series of changes to the current tax system and several principles for what comprehensive tax reform would look like." ("Obama Budget Sets Stage For Battle Over Tax Hikes," The Associated Press, 2/13/12)

The Obama Budget Does Nothing To Address Entitlement Spending. "'The president's budget fails to lay out a substantive path to restore fiscal sanity,' said David M. Walker, former director of the Government Accountability Office. 'It does not include enough specifics regarding comprehensive tax reform and neglects any reforms to Social Security. It is not bold enough or specific enough regarding proposed changes to Medicare, Medicaid and other health reforms.'" (Steven Thomma and David Lightman, "Obama's Budget Frames Election Choices, Doesn't Solve Long-Term Problems," McClatchy Newspapers, 2/13/12)

Mitt Romney Has Proposed A Bold, Fiscally Conservative Plan To Turn Around The Federal Government:

Set Honest Goals: Cap Spending At 20 Percent Of GDP

• Any turnaround must begin with clear and realistic goals. Optimistic projections cannot wish a problem away; they can only make it worse. As president, Mitt Romney's goal will be to bring federal spending below 20 percent of GDP by the end of his first term.

Take Immediate Action: Return Non-Security Discretionary Spending To Below 2008 Levels

• Any turnaround must also stop the bleeding and reverse the most recent and dramatic damage. As president, Mitt Romney will send Congress a bill on Day One that cuts non-security discretionary spending by 5 percent across the board, and then seek to cap non-security discretionary spending below 2008 levels

Reform Entitlements For Future Generations of Americans

• In their current form, Social Security and Medicare are unsustainable. We cannot afford to avoid our entitlement challenges any longer. Mitt Romney is the only candidate for president who has offered a sweeping, specific plan to save Social Security and reform Medicare. These are sensible and critical reforms. Under his plan, no one at or near the retirement age will see any changes — and tax hikes are off the table.

Follow a Clear Roadmap: Make Government Simpler, Smaller, and Smarter

Any turnaround must have a thoughtful, structured approach to achieving its goals. Mitt Romney will attack the bloated budget from three angles:

• Stop Doing Things The American People Can't Afford. Eliminating Obamacare alone will save $95 billion annually by 2016. Mitt Romney will also eliminate or cut a wide range of programs, from Amtrak to the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, always asking the question: "Is this program so critical that we should borrow money from China to pay for it?"

• Empower States To Innovate. State and local governments are far better equipped than is the federal government to understand the needs of their residents and craft the appropriate programs to serve them. Returning anti-poverty programs to the states will lead to programs that are less costly to the government and more effective for those in need. Mitt Romney will begin by block granting Medicaid to the states and limiting its rate of growth, saving well over $100 billion per year by 2016. He will also block grant housing, hunger, and retraining programs.

• Improve Efficiency And Effectiveness. Where the federal government does need to act, it must do a better job. The White House estimates that more than $100 billion was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse last year. Mitt Romney will aim to cut this problem in half, producing more than $50 billion in annual savings. He will also pursue commonsense reductions through attrition in the federal workforce, and an alignment of federal employee pay and benefits with compensation in the private sector, saving an additional $50 billion.