Sen. Portman Wants Spending Cuts to Match Debt Increase

Introduces measure to that effect

Sen. Rob Portman said Tuesday he plans to introduce a measure requiring that any increase in the nation's borrowing ceiling be offset with spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget over the next decade.

Mr. Portman, Ohio Republican, said the Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act will help ensure that Congress does not continue to kick the can down the road of deficit reduction and lump "an unconscionable burden on future generations."

"In order to spur job creation and get our economy back on the right track, we must restore fiscal responsibility, and this starts by stopping Washington's reckless pattern of spending money we don't have," Mr. Portman said.

House Republicans announced last week that they plan to push for a three-month extension of the nation's borrowing limit, which now sits at $16.4 trillion, in order to give Congress more time to agree on spending levels and pass a federal budget.