The 112th
Congress has had a tumultuous first seven months, capped off by an epic debt
ceiling debate that will guarantee … well, another debt ceiling debate when the
latest $2.4 trillion check eventually runs out. In so doing, Congress has left
behind a great deal of unfinished business whose quick resolution could help to
improve America’s cloudy fiscal forecast. In hopes of providing at least a
start to this process, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union has
identified 12 specific pieces of legislation that ought to be “no-brainers” for
any legislator focused on fighting for the American people’s financial future.
Every
year we hear rhetoric from Washington politicians about finding common ground,
ending “waste, fraud, & abuse,” cutting ineffective programs, and streamlining
government. Many citizens will see their Representative or Senator tout a bill
they have introduced that would implement a seemingly obvious reform, never to
hear of it again.
The
following list – by no means exhaustive – is a collection of reforms that
should have bipartisan appeal due to their obvious and practical nature. Only
politicians concerned about a small special interest, or completely uncommitted
to improving government, could stand against these “no brainers.”
Congress
Members returning from summer recess looking for budgetary savings, and just
plain smarter government, should work to push these helpful bills over the
finish line…
1. The REFUND Act (H.R. 1358/S. 1009),
introduced by Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT) in the House, and Senator
Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the Senate, is perhaps the king on the ‘no-brainers’ in
light of our massive debt. The bill would allow states that refuse federal
funding to redirect that money to pay down the national debt, rather than allow
it to be redistributed to other, less fiscally prudent states. This would short
circuit the “use-it-or-lose-it” approach to accepting and spending federal
grant money that has been a major contributor to Washington’s overspending
problem.
2. The Free
Sugar Act (S. 685, H.R. 1385/1739),
spearheaded by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Representative Robert Dold
(R-IL), would remove the absurd system of tariffs, quotas, and other federal
support that artificially inflates U.S. sugar prices. Concerned consumers have
grown weary of the disturbingly ubiquitous, and unfairly subsidized high-fructose
corn syrup, making now the perfect time for government to stop preventing sugar
from returning to the marketplace.
3. The
DATA Act (H.R. 2126/S. 1222), sponsored by Representative Darrell Issa
(R-CA) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), would greatly increase government transparency
by building on the success of the USAspending.gov website which puts federal
grant, contract, and other information at the fingertips of any concerned
citizen. There is currently no standard for financial data collection,
significantly hampering the usability of current transparency portals. The DATA
Act would remedy that, and also counter waste, fraud, and abuse by streamlining
databases across agencies. Though imperfect, this bill constitutes a big step
towards greater transparency.
4. The
Taxpayer Receipt Act (S.437/H.R. 1527), the product of Senator Bill
Nelson (D-FL) and Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL), would give taxpayers a
receipt showing how their taxes are being spent. The detailed electronic or
paper accounting would show how much the government is borrowing in their name,
as well as break down where their money goes into categories like Medicare,
Social Security, national defense, net interest on the federal debt, education,
and federal employee benefits.
5. The
Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act (H.R. 1891), authored by Rep.
Duncan Hunter (R-CA), is a bill that definitely lives up to its name. Far from
taking “the meat axe approach” that alarmists always use to defend the
education-spending status quo, Hunter’s bill is a thoughtful attempt to clear
the decks of federal school programs that no longer make sense. These include
many that have been defunded but not de-authorized, have been cited for poor
performance or duplication, or have even been consolidated or eliminated in
President Obama’s own Fiscal Year 2012 budget. With this kind of balanced
approach, lawmakers who care about taxpayers, the effectiveness of federal
education policy, or both, can back this legislation.
6. The
Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act (H.R. 1173/S. 720),
from House Members Charles Boustany (R-LA), Phil Gingrey (R-GA), and Senator
John Thune (R-SD), would put an end to the controversial Community Living Assistance
Services and Supports (CLASS) Act that was passed as part of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) called the CLASS
Act “a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff
would have been proud of.” The CLASS Act is an entitlement that provides a cash
benefit for the purchase of nonmedical services, yet a primary reason for its
adoption was to help obscure the overall cost of the healthcare reform bill to
which it was attached. It did so through a five-year vesting period where “premiums”
would be collected but no benefits would be paid out. Once CLASS benefits actually
kick in, the program could quickly become a vacuum for federal dollars,
something we can ill-afford with our massive debt.
7. The
Decrease Spending Now Act (H.R. 1111/S. 726) is the work of Representative
Tom Price (R-GA), and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). This bill is a very
straightforward deficit reduction measure that would rescind unobligated
federal funds and use them to pay down the deficit. An Office of Management and
Budget report found an estimated $703 billion in previously obligated but
never-expended resources sitting in department coffers. These unspent resources
do not have some dependent constituency subject to immediate hardship should they
not be spent, making passage of this bill a much saner alternative to raising
taxes on overburdened Americans.
8. The
Eminent Domain Tax Relief Act (H.R. 2327) introduced by Representative
Phil Gingrey (R-GA), would rescue Americans targeted by eminent domain seizures
from having to pay federal capital gains taxes on the often-dubiously
calculated “fair market value” they receive for their property. Losing one’s
property to government without benefitting from the time and choices inherent
in a truly private sale is bad enough; being taxed over the transaction adds
much more than mere insult to the injury.
9. The
Congressional Integrity and Pension Forfeiture Act (S. 1261/H.R. 2162)
initiated by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), with subsequent House legislation
introduced by Robert Dold (R-IL), would greatly expand the number of felonies
that would be grounds for stripping Members of Congress of their pensions (to a
total of 20 criminal offenses). NTU’s own figures show that at
least 16 living, former Members of Congress convicted of serious (at or
approaching felony-level) charges are eligible for pensions with a combined
yearly value of roughly $800,000. Considering
the recent outrage over less-than-criminal antics, it is shocking and
disconcerting to taxpayers to find out they currently fund pensions for
felonious Congressmen. If we can’t save federal dollars in this area, how can
the American people expect larger budget reform?
10. The
Congressional Retirement Age Act of 2011 (S. 742/H.R. 2397) sponsored
by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) would link the eligibility age of
defined-benefit pensions for Members of Congress to the retirement age for
Social Security - the House companion was subsequently introduced by
Representative Bobby Schilling (R-IL). As Congress begins to consider changes
to the Social Security retirement age, this step is a ‘no-brainer’ that will
show they are willing to lead by example. Additionally, it would find savings
for taxpayers who are subsidizing retirement plans for Congress that can be
much nicer than their own.
11. The
FAST Act (S. 1275). Senators Tom
Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced the “Medicare and Medicaid
Fighting Fraud and Abuse to Save Taxpayers’ Dollars Act,” which is a welcome attempt
to reduce the massive problem of Medicare fraud. The bill would institute new
checks and balances to greatly increase the prospect of preventing improper
Medicare payments before they happen, rather than simply identifying them after
the fact. Whether our representatives in Washington are in favor of saving
public dollars, or ensuring a program works properly for its intended
beneficiaries, the FAST Act is something they can get behind.
12. “The
Byrd Committee” (H. Res. 307), introduced by Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH),
would recreate the Committee on the Reduction of Nonessential Federal
Expenditures. Also known as the “Byrd Committee” (namesake of the late Senator Harry
F. Byrd of Virginia, not Robert Byrd of West Virginia), this body proved highly
successful at rooting out waste, inefficiencies, and duplications.
Reconstituting such an entity within Congress’s committee structure, and
requiring expedited legislative consideration of its recommendations, gives
Members of both parties who pay lip service to government efficiency a chance
to regularly back up their words with votes.
Clearly
there are many other pieces of legislation – some controversial, others far less
so – that could improve the plight of taxpayers if they were enacted. Perhaps
by tackling these 12 “no-brainers” first, Members of Congress will rediscover
that old principle of “mind over matter” and give better thought to the
entitlement, tax, and budget-process reforms that will put our nation on a more
sustainable fiscal path.
Issue Brief
