For Immediate Release

Statement by Carla Howell, political director for the Libertarian Party, on the Democratic-Republican passage of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014:

‘They did it again.

‘With overwhelming majorities, Democrats and Republicans passed one more government debt and spending hike: The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014.

‘Republicans who control the U.S. House, and who therefore control the purse strings of the federal government, sold Americans down the river — their job prospects, their kids’ future, the security of seniors, and everyone’s vital health.

‘Republicans caved on the government slowdown , falsely pegged as a ‘shutdown,’ bowing to political gamesmanship and media propaganda.

‘They supported the pretense that furloughing overpaid and unnecessary government workers — most of whom should be freed from their meaningless, wasteful, bureaucratic government jobs and encouraged to find productive, satisfying jobs in the private sector — was some kind of tragedy.

‘They should have let the slowdown go on indefinitely to force much-needed spending cuts.

‘Republicans caved again by voting to add more to the government’s burgeoning debt by raising the debt ceiling — which will lead to more printing of dollars out of thin air, more inflation, and weaker purchasing power for all Americans. It will also create a pretext for higher taxes.

‘Republicans should have allowed the deadline to pass, forcing the government to either take the radical and unwarranted step of refusing to make payments on government debt — a measure that the Treasury, Congress and President Obama were highly unlikely to take — or to make much-needed spending cuts in the other 92 percent of federal government spending.

‘And what if lawmakers actually refused to make payments on the debt, putting their special interest pals first?

‘Would it have damaged the U.S. government’s credit rating, making it more difficult for politicians to overspend and borrow in the future?

‘Would that have been a bad thing — or a much-needed check on reckless government overspending?

‘Most importantly, Republicans caved on defunding Obamacare, setting the stage for one of the largest expansions of government power and spending in the nation’s history.

‘Unless it is stopped soon, Obamacare will deal another blow to the economy and imperil Americans’ health. That will be a true tragedy. It will prohibit innocent Americans from pursuing the treatments they need to prevent and cure disease. For many, they will lose their very lives because of centrally-planned, government controlled medicine.

‘Republicans made concession after concession. They even refused to block the new medical device tax, one of many new taxes built into President Obama’s health care law.

‘Democrats, of course, were cheerleading for higher spending all the while.

‘Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner said, ‘We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win.’

‘Translation: ‘We pretended to put up a fight, caved when our approval ratings went down too far, and made sure that the money flowing to our special interest pals remained intact.’

‘Elected Democrats and Republicans are incurable. They cannot be lobbied or begged to do the right thing. Only by voting for their opposition candidates — who are firmly committed to dramatically and immediately cutting federal government spending — will anything change.

‘There’s only one way to change the dangerous trajectory on which the fragile U.S. economy lies.

‘There’s only one way to create real private sector jobs.

‘There’s only one way to ensure access to affordable, high-quality health care.

‘Vote small government. Vote Libertarian.’