Schilling Slams Bustos, Republican Leadership on Debt Ceiling Vote

EAST MOLINE, Ill.—Bobby Schilling, Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the Illinois 17th District, released the following statement following yesterday's vote in the House for a "clean" debt ceiling increase:

"It's not a surprise that Cheri Bustos voted to increase the debt limit with no spending cuts, spiraling us further down a path of unsustainable debt. She is a liberal, and liberals love to spend taxpayer money without worrying about the consequences. So while I'm obviously disappointed in her vote, I'm not shocked because this is who she is and this is what she does. She is a tax and spend liberal, pure and simple.

"But I'm very disappointed in Republican leadership, and to be quite forward, pretty upset. Have we given up on paying down our $17 trillion debt? Is this 'game over?' There's no excuse for this absolute lack of leadership from the party that's supposed to stand for fiscal sanity. It now appears that both parties in Washington are completely out of touch with reality.

"We owe it to our kids and grandkids to solve this debt crisis and start paying our bills. If we don't solve the problem now, the next generation of Americans will face dramatically higher taxes, fewer government services, and bankrupted versions of Social Security and Medicare. This is a future we cannot allow. We owe it to future Americans to pass on the same American dream that was passed on to us.

"We're in deep trouble, and we're running out of time. Washington needs to get serious and get to work before it's too late."