WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Mike Lee introduced the Budget Before Borrowing Act, which would forbid the raising of the debt ceiling unless Congress has already passed a budget in the same fiscal year. The bill was introduced with 9 additional cosponsors.

“The fact that this law is necessary is a testament to the complete lack of leadership that has been demonstrated by the Democrats in their inability and unwillingness to simply pass a budget for the government that leads the free world,” said Senator Lee. “It is absolutely disgraceful that they quite literally must be forced to assume even the most basic level of financial responsibility when it comes to running the federal affairs of the largest economy in human history.

“The debt ceiling should not be raised so easily or so often in the first place, but if it is, doing so without so much as a coherent plan as to how the money raised by the new borrowing will be used is an act of national insanity. We have now gone a thousand days without such a plan. The national debt has grown by more than $4 trillion in that span of time, and the United States government lost its AAA credit rating for the first time ever as a result. This economic recklessness must stop, and it must stop now.”

“President Obama and Congressional Democrats have added trillions to our national debt and failed to pass a budget in over 1,000 days, while taxpayers and job creators are suffering under the weight of Washington’s spending binge,” said Senator Rubio. “The Budget Before Borrowing Act will send a simple message to the big spenders: no more rubber stamp to raise the federal debt ceiling without a real plan to control our spiraling debt.”

The Budget Before Borrowing Act is cosponsored by Marco Rubio (FL), David Vitter (LA), Tom Coburn (OK), Jim DeMint (SC), Mike Crapo (ID), Ron Johnson (WI), Rand Paul (KY), James Risch (ID), John Thune (SD), and Pat Toomey (PA).