Congress is coming back to town, and that means it’s time to hide our wallets. If the leadership of both parties are left to their own devices, by the end of September the government’s spending will have increased once again. This outcome is by no means inevitable; indeed, it shouldn’t even be possible after the Republicans took solid control of both the House and Senate. It will be up to those principled leaders who do care about the financial peril our nation faces to put the brakes on any effort to speed up the government’s spending.

In recent a post on his official site, Speaker John Boehner attempted to defend his record as a conservative leader, highlighting a series of statistics that supposedly prove that he has cut spending and practiced fiscally responsible governance. This comes as a reaction to the recent effort by Rep. Mark Meadows to solicit support for a resolution to remove Boehner as Speaker, due to the way he has conducted his office.