Dear Member ofCongress:
On behalf of the 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union(NTU), I strongly caution you against the “contingency plan”devised by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY). This plan would abdicateCongress’ responsibility to the Constitution and to taxpayers byeffectively giving the President unilateral power to increase thedebt limit without binding, meaningful spending cuts or structuralreforms to curb Washington’s profligacy. Far from the “Cut, Cap,and Balance” approach NTU has supported to put our nation on asound fiscal footing, this “Cut, Run, and Hide” scheme wouldutterly fail to significantly change our unsustainable budgetaryhabits.
This past November, Americans clearly expressed their displeasurewith massive overspending and resulting trillion-dollar deficits.Unfortunately, Senator McConnell’s plan relies on complex gimmickryto obscure the fact that it would immediately authorize hundreds ofbillions in additional debt without enforceable reductions inspending. Our $14.3 trillion debt and our $1.6 trillion overspendingproblem demand real solutions now, not procedural ploys to lay blameand avoid the hard work of trimming expenditures.
Our nation is on a collision course with a painful crisis, notbecause of inaction on the debt limit but because of intransigence onmaking necessary adjustments to spending programs. As debt skyrocketsrelative to the size of our economy, several bond agencies havewarned that the U.S. faces a downgrade from its current “AAA”rating unless leaders make a credible effort to regain control ofdeficit spending and reckless borrowing in the near future.Unfortunately, the McConnell plan contains nothing that would requireserious fiscal consolidation moving forward. It would stipulate thatPresident Obama submit a list of spending reductions equal to theamount of the near-automatic debt ceiling increase, but nothing wouldcompel Congress to enact or even consider his outline. Furthermore,even proposed modifications, such as a Congressionally-charteredcommission to review spending, leave ample room for dodgingcritically-needed decisions on outlay levels.
Simply stated, a vote for the McConnell plan is a vote to add morethan $2 trillion in debt without the promise (or the prospect) ofsubstantive policy changes in return. Furthermore, it would do so bygranting unwarranted authority to the President. Senator McConnellhimself once vigorously defended earmarks on the basis that Congressshould not cede control over less than $20 billion to the ExecutiveBranch; how strange and incongruous to now hold that it should cedecontrol over $2.4 trillion.
The McConnell plan will not put America on a sustainable fiscal path.NTU urges all Members of Congress to strenuously oppose it. Rollcall votes on this proposal will be among the most heavily-weightedof the year in our annual Rating of Congress.
Sincerely,Andrew MoylanVice President ofGovernment Affairs