Representatives Should Support the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act

 

The rescission package offered by President Trump is the largest in history and will slash billions in wasteful, unnecessary, and unobligated funds. In Washington, overspending has been a problem that transcends political party, as evidenced by the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2018. The BBA was a bad deal for taxpayers and will leave America’s budget in a worse position in the future. Lawmakers now have a unique opportunity to make some modest progress toward restoring fiscal prudence. 

 

The targeted funding reductions apply only to funds which legally cannot be spent and would not impact program operations. H.R. 3 features numerous programs that are long past their expiration date or no longer functioning, such as the Energy Department’s loan program for Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing, which hasn’t made a loan since 2011, National Emergency Grants made under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and many others which exemplify Washington's wasteful spending habits. Rescinding these funds will prevent these dollars from being used to finance new spending elsewhere in the budget.

 

With deficits projected to balloon and a debt load already over $21 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office warns that publicly held debt will match the nation’s GDP in less than a decade. Taxpayers desperately need lawmakers to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. While this legislation does not solve all of Washington’s spending problems, it is an important signal demonstrating that achieving budgetary savings should be a priority.

 

 

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