(Washington, DC) - Legislation that would reform the way Congress formulates the federal budget would help give over-burdened taxpayers the disciplined spending process they deserve, according to the 350,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU). The citizen group offered its enthusiastic endorsement of The Family Budget Protection Act at a Capitol Hill news conference today that unveiled the legislation.
"The spending extravagance of recent years has already led to enormous deficits and a deepening national debt," said NTU President John Berthoud. "Unless Congress is willing to take meaningful measures to tighten Washington's waistline, bloated spending will imperil the recent tax cuts and families will be unjustly forced to do some belt-tightening of their own."
The Family Budget Protection Act would establish an enforceable joint budget resolution, cap growth in unearned entitlements (i.e., benefits an individual does not earn by time spent in the work force) to inflation plus population growth, and modify the "Byrd Rule" in the Senate so as to lift its arbitrary ten-year limit on tax relief. The legislation would also give the President a new waste-fighting tool similar to a line item veto.
In testimony last year before the Congressional Subcommittee on the Legislative & Budget Process, Berthoud cited explosive spending, rapidly rising deficits, and a coming entitlement crisis that promises to drown the budget in a flood of red ink, as grounds for "meaningful" reform. "Weak reforms are worse than no reforms at all," Berthoud cautioned lawmakers.
Berthoud, who holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy from Yale University, recommended new PAYGO rules and caps that would apply to mandatory spending, and incentives that would encourage Congress to meet budget appropriation deadlines. He also called for passage of a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment, a goal NTU has sought since 1975.
"All of these are reasonable restraints, many of which families place on their personal budgets every day," Berthoud concluded. "Members of Congress should follow suit by taking responsibility for their budget and becoming better stewards of taxpayer dollars."
National Taxpayers Union is a non-partisan citizen organization founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and more accountability from elected officials at all levels. Note: For more information on NTU's efforts on behalf of budget process reform and John Berthoud's testimony, visit: www.ntu.org.