Today, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation released its complete BillTally report for the 112th Congress.
Since 1991, BillTally has provided a unique, comprehensive look at how the legislation that Members of Congress introduce might affect the federal budget. NTUF studies each bill introduced in Congress for new spending or savings, and cross-indexes that data with each Member's individual sponsorship and co-sponsorship of legislation. By analyzing the legislation that Members of Congress introduce and sponsor, and compiling that research into individual Member reports, NTUF offers taxpayers an in-depth break down of how their Senators and Representatives would spend the money they send to Washington each year.
NTUF Director of Research Demian Brady said "[o]ur new BillTally analysis shows the electoral response to Washington's record spending trends did stem the flow of budget increases over the past two years. Even though BillTally data can say as much about past Congresses as the most recent one, there's no denying lawmakers' agendas have shifted toward cuts and more moderate spending agendas."
Some of the notable findings in the newest report:
- For the first time in 12 years there were more in Congress who wanted to cut spending overall than those who sought to drastically increase spending.
- Excluding duplicate and overlapping legislation, the net total spending agenda of all Members of the 112th Congress amounted to $1.3 trillion in spending increase proposals.
- Members of the 112th Congress introduced a total of $1.2 trillion in spending cut proposals.
- NTUF found more proposals to reduce federal spending in the 112th Congress than there have been since the 105th Congress (1997-1998).
According to Brady:
"We are seeing that most Members of Congress have scaled back the cost of their legislative agendas. However, there is a growing polarity between those calling for more spending and those who are 'net cutters'. Because of this, a lot of budget cuts were left on the table at the conclusion of the 112th Congress. Without bipartisan agreement to enact some real spending restraint, deficits will flourish and higher tax burdens will likely follow."
Stay tuned to the Government Bytes blog, as well as the NTUF Twitter account, for more of the Foundation's analysis on the BillTally findings.
You can read the full report by clicking here.