Sen. Coats boasts balanced Ind. budget

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Members of the U.S. Senate return to Washington Tuesday to work on a deal to reduce the nation's debt. They face an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the government borrowing limit.

Indiana Sen. Dan Coats was chosen to deliver the GOP weekly radio address over the weekend. In it, he said that leaders in Washington should follow the example set by state government here in Indiana.

"Governor Mitch Daniels, like the president, inherited the weak economy," said Coats.

It may not be a fair comparison but Coats spelled it out this way: "While other states increased spending and raised taxes, Indiana reduced spending, cut taxes, and paid down its debts."

He went on to say that, "Thanks to our governor's leadership and the resolve of Hoosiers, our state is now the most attractive place to do business in the Midwest."

When talks resume in D.C. on Tuesday, Republicans can be expected to hold firm in opposition to tax hikes but there is new hope that agreement can be found on the elimination of tax breaks that could save the government billions of dollars.

"It would be nice if we could keep every tax break but we can't afford them," said President Barack Obama in his weekly address.

"This is a fruitful area for us to work on in a bi-partisan way," said Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn on Fox News Sunday.

Time is running out and the stakes are high. A failure to raise the debt ceiling could lead to devastating effects on the economy.

"The eyes of the world are fixed on the U.S. to see if we have the political courage and moral sense to solve our debt crisis,” Coats said.

Democrats will tell you that the Indiana state budget is balanced only because of federal stimulus money, and stimulus payments are one reason why the deficit in Washington is so high. Nevertheless, the call for spending cuts by Senator Coats and other Republicans is unlikely to change.