NTU strongly urges all Senators to vote “NO” on Senator Cotton’s (R-AR) Amendment #456 to H.R. 2810, the Senate National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This amendment would repeal the 2011 Budget Control Act’s (BCA) discretionary spending caps. Despite subsequent budget agreements that altered those caps on a short-term basis, the BCA successfully reoriented our spending trajectory and should be kept in place.
Taxpayers are in urgent need of fiscal restraint from Congress. Only a few days ago our national debt topped $20 trillion.
The BCA caps have achieved significant savings to the tune of $7,400 per household by the end of 2017. The BCA successfully put spending on a new trajectory that will continue to accrue savings over the baseline in years to come. Just as important, the BCA imposes at least a modicum of fiscal discipline. An annual cap allows Congress and agencies to plan accordingly for years in advance, reducing waste, and better defining priorities.
Again, our national debt exceeded $20 trillion less than one week ago. The last thing Senators should be considering is a way to spend MORE. Instead, legislators should be seeking ways to build on this model, to enact institutional reforms to restrain spending, and to tackle the big challenges of mandatory spending. Discretionary spending may be a shrinking proportion of our federal budget, but they are still dollars taken from taxpayers either now or in the future. At this critical juncture for our future prosperity, ALL spending should be on the table.
Roll call votes on Amendment #456 will be heavily weighted in our annual Rating of Congress and a “NO” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.