Georgia U.S. Senate Candidate Buckley says Doug Collins Recognizes Major Problems But Offers No Solutions While Making the Problems Worse

    ATLANTA, GA, July 30, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Allen Buckley, a fiscal conservative independent candidate in the special election race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kelly Loeffler, says U.S. House of Representatives member Doug Collins recognizes the nation's major problems, but offers no solutions and makes the problems worse. Collins also seeks to replace Kelly Loeffler in the U.S. Senate.

The debt, that will soon surpass $27 trillion, is a major problem because in 2007, when total debt was less than $9 trillion, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said: "GAO's current long-term simulations continue to show ever larger deficits resulting in a federal debt burden that ultimately spirals out of control." Annual revenue has never exceeded $3.5 trillion, and the budget has not been balanced since the turn of the century. In 2011, when total federal debt was approximately $15 trillion, Admiral Mike Mullen, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the national debt the nation's greatest national security threat.

Collins's U.S. Senate website includes the following heading: "Cutting Taxes and Spending." Under it, the following sentence exists: "I worked hand-in-hand with President Trump and my Republican colleagues to pass historic tax reform, and we're continuing to see the results." Those results include a $1 trillion deficit for 2019. Concerning tax reform, the website says: "Hardworking Americans and job creators deserve relief from the demands of a bloated government, and conservative tax reform can help reignite our economy and leave our citizens with more of their own money to pursue their goals on their terms." Collins's voting record shows he has not proposed tax reform. He simply voted for the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It made the existing complex tax system even more complex.

Regarding the growing national debt, Collins's U.S. House website says: "Currently, the federal government is spending far more that it takes in, and the result is a national debt of more than $20 trillion. In order to strengthen our economy and encourage job growth, we must rein in government spending, reforms entitlement programs, reduce costly red tape, and cut out waste and fraud in government programs."

Collins's voting record shows a consistent pattern of voting for tax cuts that build on the current complex system, making it more complex, and spending increases. Tax cuts legislation that he supported includes the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, the State and Local Tax Deduction Fairness Act of 2015, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Family Savings Act of 2018. He also has regularly voted for "tax extenders" bills that extend or make permanent tax benefits. None of these tax bills is even partially paid for by spending reduction.

He has voted for spending increases mainly when his party is in control of Congress. Regarding spending increases, Mr. Collins voted for the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018) and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. Both bills suspended the debt limit. In conjunction with voting for the BBA 2018, Collins also voted for the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. It was enacted, and it resulted in large increases to both defense and nondefense spending, in accordance with BBA 2018. On February 20, 2019, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said of BBA 2018: "The 2018 budget deal enacted a massive increase in discretionary spending. The deal grew spending by 16 percent from 2017 to 2019, blew through the bipartisan caps set in 2011, and added $420 billion to the debt — mostly over two years. Today's spending levels are high by historical standards."

Regarding health care, Collins's U.S. House website says: "Instead of government mandates, we need free-market solutions that bring our hardworking neighbors choices of insurance providers, coverage options, physicians, and cost structures." But, no solutions are provided. Collins's voting record shows he had done nothing to bring about needed changes.

Concerning Medicare and Social Security, Collins's U.S. House website says: "Georgians should be able to count on Social Security and Medicare benefits for which they've worked. However, the current structures of these programs are unsustainable." Again, Collins's voting record shows he has done nothing to deal with the unsustainability of these programs.

On his campaign website, Buckley proposes a much simpler and more efficient tax system that uses algebra to produce balanced budgets during years the U.S. is not in recession or experiencing an emergency situation. He proposes market-based solutions to rising health care costs. And, his website includes a bill he drafted titled "The Financial Sanity Act." It deals with the unsustainability of Social Security and Medicare, by gradually pushing back the normal retirement age for Social Security and the retirement age for Medicare to age 70, and then adjusted that age every decade based on changing life expectancy.

Buckley said: "The national debt is our nation's greatest long-term problem. By voting to cut taxes and significantly increase spending, Doug Collins has only made the problem worse. He offers no simpler and better tax system. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which he voted for, reduced revenue while making the complex tax system even more complex. He offers no market based solutions to health care's problems. He offers no solutions to the unsustainable nature of Social Security and Medicare. In contrast, I offer solutions to all of these problems, and they are laid out on my campaign website. They require reasonable sacrifice. The time has come that people like Mr. Collins to not be part of Congress."

Mr. Buckley's "Save Tomorrow" campaign is about living for today and tomorrow, instead of living for today to the detriment of tomorrow. The focus is on doing things to make tomorrow as good as or even better than today, by acting now to address the nation's financial challenges and confronting global warming in a practical way. Mr. Buckley is an attorney/CPA. He can be reached for comment at (404) 610-1936. Mr. Buckley's campaign website is www.buckleyforsenate.org.

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