The budget process forces Congress to set priorities to protect the people’s money and put it to its appropriate use. Instead, the Democrat-controlled Senate has abdicated its responsibility. The result? The deficit is soaring, causing a looming tax burden and injecting uncertainty into the economy, leaving jobs and economic growth on the table. It’s no wonder the U.S. economy’s growth is so tepid.

here are some facts about America’s budget and why the Senate must take action to be stewards of the people’s money as the Constitution requires:

•The last time the Senate passed a budget was on April 29, 2009.

•Since that date, the federal government has spent $9.4 trillion, adding $4.1 trillion in debt.

•As of January 20, the outstanding public debt stands at $15,240,174,635,409.

•Interest payments on the debt are now more than $200 billion per year.

•President Obama proposed a FY2012 budget last year, and the Senate voted it down 97–0. (And that budget was no prize—according to the Congressional Budget Office, that proposal never had an annual deficit of less than $748 billion, would double the national debt in 10 years and would see annual interest payments approach $1 trillion per year.)

•The Senate rejected House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R–WI) budget by 57–40 in May 2011, with no Democrats voting for it.

•In FY2011, Washington spent $3.6 trillion. Compare that to the last time the budget was balanced in 2001, when Washington spent $1.8 trillion ($2.1 trillion when you adjust for inflation).

•Entitlement spending will more than double by 2050 [2]. That includes spending on Medicare, Medicaid and the Obamacare subsidy program, and Social Security. Total spending on federal health care programs will triple.

•By 2050, the national debt is set to hit 344 percent of Gross Domestic Product [3].

•Taxes paid per household have risen dramatically, hitting $18,400 in 2010 [4] (compared with $11,295 in 1965). If the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire and more middle-class Americans are required to pay the alternative minimum tax (AMT), taxes will reach unprecedented levels.

•Federal spending per household is skyrocketing. [5] Since 1965, spending per household has grown by nearly 162 percent, from $11,431 in 1965 to $29,401 in 2010. From 2010 to 2021, it is projected to rise to $35,773, a 22 percent increase.

Barack Obama and Harry Reid want for Obama's reelection campaign to be about a do nothing Congress. Obama can't run on his dismal record. The do nothing though is Obama, Reid, and the Democrats.

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