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Romney Campaign Press Release - A Broken Promise Three Years in the Making

February 23, 2012

"This week marks another sad milestone in the failed presidency of Barack Obama. Today is the three-year anniversary of the President's pledge to cut our deficit in half. Instead, he put us on a path toward more debt, more deficits, and decline. Barack Obama is the first president in history to preside over a $1 trillion deficit. And his new budget ensures that he will preside over a $1 trillion deficit every year he is in office. It's disappointing, but not surprising. President Obama has no real world experience.  He's never run a business. He's never run a state. He's never had to make payroll or balance a budget." —Andrea Saul, Romney Spokesperson

Today, President Obama Will Give A Speech About His Plan To Create An Economy That Is "Built To Last":

Today, President Obama Will Deliver A Speech On His "Pillars" Of "An America Built To Last." "Administration officials said the president's speech at the University of Miami will build off his State of the Union address, when he called energy one of the four 'pillars' for 'an America built to last,' and is not a direct response to the political heat Obama has been taking for the pain at the pump." (Mary Bruce, "Obama To Promote Energy Policy As Gas Prices Rise," ABC News' "The Note" Blog, 2/21/12)

Three Years Ago, President Obama Had A Different Plan To Improve Long-Term Economic Growth—Cutting The Deficit In Half:

Three Years Ago Today, President Obama Promised To Cut The $1.3 Trillion Federal Deficit In Half By The End Of 2012 In An Effort To Improve The Country's "Long Term" Path To Economic Growth. "We cannot begin to tackle the challenges we face in the short term to revive our economy and in the long term to put us on the path to growth without restoring fiscal responsibility and accountability to Government. ... Cut the deficit in half by the end of the President's first term. On January 20, 2009, the President inherited a $1.3 trillion budget deficit. The President has put forth a budget that will halve this deficit by the end of his first term, bring non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level as a share of GDP since 1962." (White House Website, www.whitehouse.gov, Accessed 2/20/12)

President Obama On February 23, 2009: "That's Why Today I'm Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half By The End Of My First Term In Office." OBAMA: "And that's why today I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office.  This will not be easy.  It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we've long neglected.  But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay -- and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control." (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Opening Of Fiscal Responsibility Summit, Washington, D.C., 2/23/09)

The White House Celebrated President Obama's Deficit Promise By Declaring "This Is Big." "This is big -- the President today promised that by the end of his first term, he will cut in half the massive federal deficit we've inherited. And we'll do it in a new way: honestly and candidly." (Macon Phillips, "Owning Up To What We Owe," The White House Blog, 2/23/09)

One Day Later, President Obama Reaffirmed His Pledge To A Joint Session Of Congress And Declared His Administration Had "Begun To Go Line By Line" To Cut Spending. "Yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office.  My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs.  As you can imagine, this is a process that will take some time.  But we're starting with the biggest lines." (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Join Session Of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2/24/09)

But President Obama's Most Recent Budget "Does Not Come Close" To Fulfilling His Deficit Promise:

President Obama's 2013 Budget "Does Not Come Close" To Meeting His Deficit Promise. "The 2013 budget the president submitted today does not come close to meeting this promise of being reduced to $650 billion for fiscal year 2013." (Jake Tapper, "Obama's Broken Deficit Promise,"ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, 2/13/12)

 President Obama's Budget Projects A $1.15 Trillion Deficit In 2012. "The president noted in that 2009 speech the Obama administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit. The deficit was similarly $1.3 trillion in 2011, is projected to be $1.15 trillion in 2012, and the president's budget claims it will be $901 billion in 2013." (Jake Tapper, "Obama's Broken Deficit Promise," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, 2/13/12)

President Obama Has Projected The "Fourth Straight Year Of Deficits Over $1 Trillion." "Obama's budget projects that the deficit for the current year will total $1.33 trillion, the fourth straight year of deficits over $1 trillion." ("Highlights Of Obama's $3.8 Trillion Budget," The Associated Press, 2/14/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, The National Debt Has Increased By Approximately $4.8 Trillion. (U.S. Department Of Treasury Website, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 2/16/12)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - A Broken Promise Three Years in the Making Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/300208

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