(Washington, DC) – In a letter, 20 free-market groups have warned Congress against exceeding the discretionary spending limits they agreed upon in the Ryan-Murray budget deal. The letter specifically warns lawmakers not to utilize budget gimmicks in order to spend even more than the $1.014 trillion allotted for the next fiscal year. Congress already pushed aside limits set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 so they could spend over a trillion dollars in each of the next two fiscal years.
The letter states: “If Congress is to have any credibility on fiscal restraint, it should not further alter the caps and allow spending to exceed the already-revised discretionary figure of $1.014 trillion for FY015. Maintaining this level appears to be in jeopardy, which is cause for serious concern.”
The signatories also point to Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) abuse and “changes in mandatory programs” (or CHIMPs) as specific mechanisms Congress may be exploiting to keep the outlays flowing ‘off the books’.
OCO spending should be limited exclusively to military operations abroad, and should wind down as U.S. involvement does.
In addition to National Taxpayers Union, signatories include the 60 Plus Association, American Commitment, Americans for Tax Reform, Campaign for Liberty, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Coalition to Reduce Spending, Competitive Enterprise Institute, The Conservative Caucus, Inc., Cost of Government Center, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, DownsizeDC.org, Freedom Action, FreedomWorks, R Street Institute, Republican Liberty Caucus, Restore America’s Mission, Rio Grande Foundation, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Click HERE to read the full letter.
National Taxpayers Union, “The Voice of America’s Taxpayers”, is the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization with 362,000 members nationwide (ntu.org).