I supported the Budget Control Act, a bipartisan bill which passed both the House and the Senate, because I believe this legislation is an important step to change the direction of Washington.

While not perfect, this bill will save taxpayers trillions of dollars and avoid a default on our nation's bills. I am encouraged that Congress is no longer talking about whether or not we should cut spending, but how much to cut. The discussion is not about how to expand government, but how we can create a smaller, more efficient government.

For the past few weeks, debate in Washington revolved around our national debt limit, or how much the Administration can legally borrow to pay our nation's obligations. However, the issue at hand was not just the debt limit, but our federal debt. America today borrows 42 cents of every dollar, and that is unacceptable and irresponsible. We didn't get here overnight, and it will take some time to turn this ship around.

The underlying problem is Washington's addiction to spending. Simply raising the debt limit every time the bill is due will not fix anything.

While the Budget Control Act is not a perfect bill, in this time of divided government, we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Let's not forget how this discussion started, with a request from the President for an unconditional increase in the debt ceiling that would have just extended the status quo and the policies bankrupting our country. Instead, this legislation enacts real cuts, accounting to greater than the increase of the debt ceiling. Additionally, this bill rejects the President's request for job-killing tax increases.

This bill includes a framework that will begin bringing fiscal discipline to Congress, a discipline that is sorely needed. The bill includes spending caps that would actually set limits on how much the government can spend. The agreement also creates a 12-member joint committee charged with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts to reduce the deficit. If Congress does not settle on an agreement by the end of the year, across-the-board cuts will go into effect. Finally, the agreement requires, for the first time in 15 years, that both the House and Senate vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment. Under both parties, Washington has spent too much, and this framework helps to transform the culture of spending into a culture of responsibility.

The end goal has not changed, which is to bring long-term, structural spending reform to Washington and avert a debt crisis. The next generation, and our future economic growth, depends on it. This bill is one step toward that goal, and I look forward to continuing the fight to rein in out-of-control deficits and get our economy on the right track again.

Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. represents Wisconsin's 5th District.