Chenoweth Gives Up On Budget Proposals

Rep. Helen Chenoweth has given up on the push for a balanced budget in five years and a freeze on federal spending, a cornerstone in her campaign.

The Idaho Republican this week warned the solution is too extreme. A spending freeze would overheat the economy and devalue the dollar; slowing the rate of increased expenditures is the better option, she said.

“Unfortunately, we’re increasing the decrease so we can balance the budget in seven years, not five,” she said.

Chenoweth added she supports imposing smaller spending rises across the board, except for veterans’ services.

“They were promised,” she said. “I think they are sacred. I think promises should be sacred.”

Even so, she did not discount the possibility Veterans Administration hospitals may be closed and the promised care delivered at community hospitals.

The deficit continues to plague the economic stability of American families because it spawns uncertainty for businesses and farms, she said.

“We cannot bank today on what the government may do,” she said. “We live under an ever-changing regulatory climate that brings such uncertainty.”

Chenoweth said she supports a deficit-reduction bill sponsored by Rep. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho.

Dubbed the “Lock Box,” the measure requires all savings from eliminating government operations be applied to the national debt instead of being spent elsewhere.