(Alexandria, VA) – Today, National Taxpayer’s Union (NTU) officially launched its “Keep the Caps” campaign and website (KeeptheCaps.com and BillionDollarBaseball.org) to drive grassroots support for the bipartisan spending limits created by the Budget Control Act two years ago.
With the playoffs in full swing, the site features an interactive game called “Billion Dollar Baseball” to educate visitors on where their tax dollars are being spent - and give them a chance to win prizes. Citizens can also use the site to contact elected officials on behalf of preserving the spending caps, while also learning about important budgetary developments.
“The President and some in Congress are still maneuvering to get around the sensible, bipartisan, ‘sequester’ spending caps, in the midst of budget discussions,” said NTU Executive Vice President Pete Sepp. “These limits are a modest but critical step in the right direction, that the American people rightfully expect their leaders to uphold. If public officials break their word now on sensible spending curbs that Congress and the President agreed upon just two years ago, making additional progress on issues like entitlement reform will be much tougher.”
The campaign will also feature radio ads in multiple states (including Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina), online advertising, and grassroots activity such as Congressional district office meetings. High scorers and citizen activists will be featured on the website as well as social media outlets.
Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, Congress and the President must agree to keep certain portions of federal discretionary (and to a lesser degree mandatory) spending within prescribed limits; otherwise, an automatic process called “sequestration” takes place. So far the caps and the sequestration enforcement mechanism have reversed some of the massive spending growth that has occurred in recent years. Absent better budget prioritization from policymakers, these measures will help to control the rate of increase in part of the federal budget past the end of this decade.
NTU has been a leading voice advocating for the spending caps, with articles featured in the Washington Times, The Hill, Roll Call, and more.
The 362,000-member NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s work, is available at www.ntu.org.