Tell Your Representatives to Support Decrease Spending Now Act

by: freedom works | published: 04 01, 2011

Introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), H.R. 1111 "Decrease Spending Now Act" mandates that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withdraw $45 billion from unobligated balances of discretionary appropriations within 60 days. The Senate has already overwhelmingly passed the bill with the support of 34 Democrats.

A recent OMB report states that this year’s federal budget contains over $700 billion in unobligated balances. This means that hundreds of billions of dollars sit unspent in numerous government agencies. The report finds that $309.1 billion sits in the Treasury, $12.2 billion at the Agriculture Department, $16.4 billion at Labor, $71.4 billion at Defense and $25.2 billion at Housing and Urban Development.

Sen. Coburn’s (R-Okla.) office found that at least $100 billion of these funds can safely be redirected immediately to reduce the national deficit. It is estimated that $82.4 billion of these funds are between six and twenty years old.

Congress must seek to eliminate wasteful spending wherever they find it. One of the most obvious examples of needless spending is Congress appropriating more money to a federal agency than it can spend. With our nation over $14 trillion in debt, we clearly cannot afford a federal budget that includes hundreds of billions in unobligated balances.

The Decrease Spending Now Act is a modest proposal that is a step in the right direction towards reining in excessive spending. During the historical elections last November, House Republicans pledged to cut at least $100 billion in spending. Lawmakers must stay true to their word by supporting any effort to reduce wasteful spending.

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