Spending Less Will Keep U.S. Economy At The Top, Says Sessions

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) released the following statement after the International Monetary Fund predicted that China will surpass the U.S. in 2016 as the world’s largest economy:

“The IMF forecast that in five years China will surpass America as the world’s leading economic power is a call to action. It’s time to get our economy in fighting shape. Our enormous surging debt may already be costing us a million jobs a year. A prominent study by economists Reinhart and Rogoff shows that when debt exceeds ninety percent of GDP it results in a loss of one percent in GDP growth. Treasury Secretary Geithner called this study ‘excellent’ and warned that ‘it understates the risks.’ Our debt burden has already passed ninety percent of GDP and is expected to reach one hundred percent in just five months. To avoid a crisis we must control our spending. Federal spending has increased from $1.8 trillion in 2001 to $3.7 trillion this year. We need a budget that spends less, not one that takes more – an honest budget that lifts our crushing debt burden and allows our nation to compete, to thrive, and to lead in the 21st century.”