GOP: Obama has failed to address deficit

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The United States is in financial trouble, but President Barack Obama says the federal debt "is nothing to worry about," a Senate Republican charged Saturday.

Presenting the GOP's weekly address, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama said "the American people see the financial chaos. They know it must stop," The Hill reported.

Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee., said the president had failed to rally the country to deal with the problem.

"Instead, he says our debt course is nothing to worry about," Sessions said. "He continues to insist that his budget plan will pay down the debt."

Sessions said the president's budget reduction plan provides for no surplus, which was needed to pay down the debt.

"Despite $1.8 trillion in new taxes, his budget increases our spending and debt every year, adding $11 trillion to the debt overall," he said.

The administration has previously rejected such claims. The White House website says, "Since his first day in office, President Obama has focused on laying the foundation for an economy built to last—creating jobs for American workers, cutting taxes for middle class families and small businesses, investing in education, manufacturing and American-made energy, and making sure everyone plays by the same rules, from Main Street to Wall Street."

Sessions charged Senate Democrats "have deliberately violated the legal requirement to produce a budget plan" for a third year in a row, examiner.com reported.

With an eye on the November elections and the potential to shift control of the Senate to the GOP, Sessions claimed that "if given the chance, Republicans will get this government under control."