Lawmakers are making progress in cutting the deficit, but there is still a long way to go. That’s what Congressmen Greg Walden and House Whip Kevin McCarthy said in Bend last week. Walden said on Thursday, the House voted to remove a burdensome 1099 Tax Filing requirement from businesses. That same legislation also will carve $166 million from the federal deficit: “So there are ways to find solutions that not only reduce the deficit, relieve a burden on business and create jobs and we did it in a bipartisan way.” As an example, McCarthy says discretionary spending has increased 83% over the last three years. He adds that government needs to live within it's means and at the same time grow the economy. Obama’s budget projects that 2011 will see the biggest one-year debt jump in history, or nearly $2 trillion, to reach $15.-4 trillion dollars by September. 30th.
