NTU urges all Senators to vote “YES” on the Paul amendment (S. Amdt. 1019) to S. Amdt. 948 to H.R. 3055, making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2020. This amendment would reduce appropriations for each of the four bills contained in the legislative package by two percent relative to FY 2019 levels. Lawmakers should support this proposal, and pursue other legislation that helps rein in runaway spending by the federal government.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, signed into law in August, ignored prudent budget caps put in place by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, paved the way for $320 billion in new government spending, included no real spending offsets, and accelerated the nation’s path to a fiscal crisis.
However, policymakers still have an opportunity to responsibly reduce federal spending for FYs 2020 and 2021, given that appropriations bills for both fiscal years have yet to become law. They should start by passing S. Amdt. 1019 from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), which would require reasonable, across-the-board spending reductions in the four appropriations bills being considered by the Senate in S. Amdt. 948 to H.R. 3055 (Commerce, Justice, and Science; Agriculture; Interior and Environment; Transportation, HUD).
Whether measuring the Paul amendment against enacted FY 2019 levels or against the FY 2020 levels proposed in S. Amdt. 948 to H.R. 3055, this legislation would save taxpayers billions of dollars in FY 2020. NTU hopes to see similar amendments introduced for other appropriations bills considered by the Senate. With the recent news that the federal government’s FY 2019 deficit was nearly $1 trillion, lawmakers have little time to waste if they seek to avoid budget and trust fund crises in the coming years.
NTU strongly urges Senators to support the Paul amendment (S. Amdt. 1019), and other fiscally responsible amendments to FY 2020 appropriations bills.
Roll call votes on the Paul amendment (S. Amdt. 1019) will be included in our annual Rating of Congress and a “YES” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have any questions, please contact NTU Policy and Government Affairs Associate Andrew Lautz at alautz@ntu.org.