Statement by Newt Gingrich on Debt Ceiling Deal

Atlanta, GA - Newt Gingrich released the following statement today reacting to news of a debt limit agreement:

"Avoiding default is not a solution to America's jobs and debt crisis. This agreement only sets the stage for an enormous amount of work going forward – well beyond the next two years - on how to create jobs, reduce government spending, return to balanced budgets and pay off our debt.

"If the ultimate result of this deal is a tax increase and/or debilitative cuts in our investment in national security, it will be a destructive failure. With so much work remaining to be done, this deal is yet another reminder of the urgent need to replace President Obama and his radical commitment to big government and higher taxes.

"As President, I will approach solving America's debt crisis by adhering to three principles.

1. Job creation must be job one. The most pressing challenge facing America is the crisis of the Obama depression. Therefore, all deficit reduction efforts must be made in the context of what would best return America to robust, long-term economic growth and job creation. This means that raising taxes must be off the table. Raising taxes in the middle of the current economic climate could permanently cripple the American economy. Tax revenues should be increased through economic growth, not by further burdening America's job creators and killing more jobs.

2. Keep politics out of national security. America's national security budgets must be based on fact-based assessments of what is needed to keep Americans safe, not on arbitrary political considerations. Our enemies and competitors will not cease being aggressive while we sort out our fiscal problems.

3. Cut spending by reforming and restructuring government. Trying to find enough savings within the framework of our current bloated, bureaucratic big government is impossible. Real, sustainable savings can only come from a fundamental overhaul of the way government works, including its arcane civil service rules. We want a smaller but also much more modern and effective government. For instance, Strong America Now, led by Michael George, believes that $500 billion per year can be saved by applying Lean Six Sigma to the federal government.