House Budget’s Message: More – a LOT More – of the Same
Washington, DC,
Mar 14, 2008 -
One of the most important duties of Congress is to pass spending bills each year to keep the federal government running. But if the budget passed yesterday by the House is any indication of things to come, the financial outlook for next year is bleak.
The fiscal year 2009 budget resolution crafted by House Democrats is a bad break for American taxpayers. This budget, if signed into law, would bring about the biggest tax in U.S. history, at a price tag of $683 billion. Wisconsinites will certainly feel the pain of this bill when they see their taxes increase by an average of $3,000. Even though many will receive stimulus rebate checks in the next few months, I cannot think of too many families who have an extra $3,000 lying around. And if they do, politicians and bureaucrats in Washington are not the first people on their gift list.
The House Budget Committee had an opportunity to bring a solid, fiscally responsible budget to the House floor for a vote, but rejected common-sense budget policy for more of the same – reckless pork barrel spending and tax spikes. Republicans on the Committee offered sensible alternatives, including a full repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a one-year moratorium on earmarks, and an elimination of “airdropped” earmarks (inserted in a bill at the last minute) whose savings could have paid for programs such as those assisting our nation’s veterans - but all were rejected by Budget Committee Democrats.
My Wisconsin colleague, House Budget Committee Ranking Member Paul Ryan made an additional attempt to rein in federal spending by offering an alternative budget on the House floor, which I eagerly supported. Representative Ryan’s budget would have eliminated the AMT, required a separate vote on increasing the public debt to hold Members of Congress accountable, included a bipartisan Legislative Line Item Veto, imposed a halt on earmarks for the remainder of this session of Congress, and reduced entitlement spending.
During the past few years, our federal spending has gotten out of hand, particularly in the area of earmarks, requested by Members of Congress to benefit their individual districts. And as you can see from the attached chart, there is a direct correlation between the number of earmarks and total federal spending.
Consequently, knowing this, and given the current House Democratic Leadership’s penchant for increased spending and its refusal to address earmark reform, I am swearing off all earmark requests this year. I normally submit very few appropriations requests as it is, but until the House shows a commitment to pulling the reins on runaway federal spending, I cannot contribute to a broken budget process that keeps raising the bottom line.
I have built my career on conservative principles, including a firm commitment to fiscal responsibility. So, my opposition to the Democratic budget resolution should come as no surprise, despite the fact that it’s essentially a guideline for Congress for the duration of the year. While the budget resolution does not actually spend the money, it does send a message to the public on Congress’ priorities. And to be honest, I don’t like the message that was sent by all the people who voted ‘YES’ on this budget resolution. Not one bit.
###
text size 
