(Alexandria, VA) – Senator Marco Rubio’s Presidential candidacy has caused some additional focus on his finances. Not to be left out, National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) today released an analysis of Marco Rubio’s legislative spending agenda during his Senate term, revealing that he aimed to reduce the federal budget by an average of $330 billion annually.
“We may not be dealing with noteworthy costs like parking tickets or fishing boats, but the Senator’s agenda would have cut spending by $330 billion annually at a time when our national debt rose beyond $16 trillion,” said NTUF Director of Research Demian Brady.
“To help put that in perspective, that’s equal to 4.1 million $80,000 speedboats.”
NTUF’s BillTally database provides a thorough accounting of the spending agendas of Members of Congress based on their sponsorship or co-sponsorship of legislation. The Rubio analysis includes the 112th and 113th Congresses. The complete highlights from NTUF’s analysis:
- Senator Rubio has sponsored legislation that would, on average, increase federal spending by $11.1 billion per year and reduce it by $341.4 billion per year.
- Senator Rubio’s net average agenda amounts to $330 billion in spending cuts per year.
- That is more in budgetary decreases than the average Republican Senator supported in the same time - $198.8 billion per year.
- The most expensive legislation the Senator has cosponsored was S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, in the 113th Congress. The proposal was found to increase spending by $16.4 billion per year. Though, the Senator has since distanced himself from its approach.
- The greatest spending reduction Senator Rubio supported was the Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2012, which would have imposed spending caps on discretionary spending. That bill would have reduced federal outlays by $177.3 billion annually over two years.
- The Senator has sponsored legislation that would repeal the so-called Affordable Care Act in each year he has been in office, a measure that would reduce federal spending by $63.9 billion.
This is the second analysis in NTUF’s series on the budgetary agendas of Presidential candidates. The first candidate reviewed was Hillary Clinton.
National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) is the research and education arm of National Taxpayers Union, “The Voice of America’s Taxpayers.” For more information visit ntu.org/foundation.