Last week, something happened in Congress that hasn’t happened since 2014. Congress passed and the President signed into law legislation that forces Congress to spend LESS this year than it did last year.
My 23rd grandson was born earlier this year. He came into the world already having captured the hearts of his grandparents and with a $95,000 bill from Washington – his portion of America’s debt. Would I have liked the bill to require deeper cuts? Absolutely! But I owed it to my grandchildren, my constituents and their grandchildren to not let perfect be the enemy of good. Before deciding to support the Fiscal Responsibility Act, I spent 72 hours reviewing the bill text and running the numbers to make sure they added up to a spending cut.
- This bill does not authorize new spending. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reduces the deficit by $2.1 trillion over 6 years.
- It limits defense spending to $868.349 billion and nondefense spending to $703.651 billion for Fiscal Year 2024, similar to the Limit, Save Grow Act that House Republicans overwhelmingly passed in April. These numbers protect Social Security, Medicare and Veterans benefits – all things very important to many of my constituents.
- The bill prevents Biden from hiring new IRS agents this year by rescinding $1.4 billion passed by Democrats last year.
- It rescinds nearly $30 billion that was allocated for COVID-related items.
- Restarts student loan payments that the Biden Administration has been blocking which was costing taxpayers $5 billion.
I am particularly pleased by the provision that mandates another spending cut if Congress fails to pass 12 appropriations bills. I and my good friend Congressman Massie have been loud and often minority voices for Congress to adhere to regular order when developing government spending bills. A flawed process will create a flawed product and compelling Congressional leaders to restore a thoughtful, thorough appropriations process is a big win!
This vote was an incremental step in the right direction to ensure the health of the U.S. economy, and there is more work to be done. Congress has another opportunity to improve on this in the upcoming appropriations bills. I consistently reject the Washington presumption that nothing in the budget can be cut in order to fund priorities without increasing the deficit. I urge my colleagues to join me in this and develop 12 appropriations bills that further reduce spending and put our nation on a responsible fiscal path.
Congressman Daniel Webster represents The Villages in the U.S. House of Representatives.
