The Federal Budget
Congressman Blumenauer believes that the fiscal health of the United States is reaching a crisis point. Under the failed policies of the Bush Administration, the United States has squandered a projected $5.6 trillion surplus, turning it into a projected $2.4 trillion deficit—a decline of $8 trillion.  As a member of the Budget Committee, Congressman Blumenauer is working to reverse these policies.  In the 2008 budget, he worked to restore fiscal responsibility to the federal budget by putting the federal budget on a path towards balance, while making down payments on longstanding national priorities.

These included:

-    Passed 2008 Budget Resolution — In May 2007, Congress approved a final budget resolution for 2008 that sets the country on a course to build a sound future for our children and grandchildren. The 2007 Congressional budget proposal balances in 2012 while reversing six years of harmful spending cuts and fiscal mismanagement. Prior Congresses failed to approve a budget resolution in two of the three previous years, leaving the government without a long-term plan for spending and revenues.

-    Reinstated and Enforced Pay-as-you-go Rule that requires all new mandatory spending or tax changes to be deficit neutral. The statutory pay-as-you-go rule in place in the 1990s was a valuable tool in helping to turn then-record budget deficits into surpluses by the early part of this decade, but Republicans did not renew the pay-as-you-go rule after it expired in 2002.

As a member of the Budget Committee, with oversight of the federal budget process, Congressman Blumenauer is deeply concerned about waste in government and has led investigations into means of reducing waste by:

-    Reviewing the ways in which the Medicare Advantage program is not cost effective.

-    Examining the costs of military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Additionally, he has investigated the dramatic increase in the government’s debt over the last several years and the effects of having 80 cents of every dollar of new debt held by foreign investors, including foreign governments.  He also has explored the long-term budget effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, particularly how poor decision-making slowed down rebuilding and increased costs.