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WASHINGTON -- Watch what you promise.
That was the advice Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., chairman of the House Budget Committee, had for presidential candidates when he spoke to reporters over breakfast Tuesday.
Democratic candidates are flocking to South Carolina because its January primary will be one of the first in the nation. They are getting a receptive audience in South Carolina by talking about improving health care and providing more jobs, Spratt said. "That's clearly what people wanted to hear."
But during the Bush administration, federal debt has grown from just under $6 trillion to nearly $10 trillion, Spratt said. Paying the interest on that debt dwarfs other priorities like education, veterans' benefits and homeland security. Discretionary federal spending on programs, other than defense, is dropping.
What would Spratt, who has not endorsed a candidate, tell a Democratic presidential hopeful?
"Don't promise too much because you may have to fulfill those promises," he said. Paying for new programs "will be hard to do."
But he said candidates should not talk about tax increases, either.
The first thing a new administration should do is overhaul the tax code to clean out a lot of special-interest tax deductions, credits and exemptions that have accumulated in the past 20 years, he said.
"We haven't had a closet cleaning since 1986," he said.
That was the advice Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., chairman of the House Budget Committee, had for presidential candidates when he spoke to reporters over breakfast Tuesday.
Democratic candidates are flocking to South Carolina because its January primary will be one of the first in the nation. They are getting a receptive audience in South Carolina by talking about improving health care and providing more jobs, Spratt said. "That's clearly what people wanted to hear."
But during the Bush administration, federal debt has grown from just under $6 trillion to nearly $10 trillion, Spratt said. Paying the interest on that debt dwarfs other priorities like education, veterans' benefits and homeland security. Discretionary federal spending on programs, other than defense, is dropping.
What would Spratt, who has not endorsed a candidate, tell a Democratic presidential hopeful?
"Don't promise too much because you may have to fulfill those promises," he said. Paying for new programs "will be hard to do."
But he said candidates should not talk about tax increases, either.
The first thing a new administration should do is overhaul the tax code to clean out a lot of special-interest tax deductions, credits and exemptions that have accumulated in the past 20 years, he said.
"We haven't had a closet cleaning since 1986," he said.