FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Isakson Co-Sponsors Legislation
to End Reckless Spending, Reform Federal Budget Process
‘We Must Take Immediate Steps to End Reckless Spending’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today took another step toward fulfilling his campaign pledge to end reckless spending in Washington by signing on as a co-sponsor of legislation to reduce the federal deficit and reform the federal budget process.

“We must take large and immediate steps to end the reckless spending that is threatening the future of our nation," Isakson said. “Congress must become better stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”   

Specifically, the Stop Over-Spending (“S.O.S.”) Act:

• Creates a line-item veto mechanism for the President to use to eliminate wasteful spending. It would require Congressional affirmation for any deletions proposed by the President.
• Implements procedures to automatically slow the rate of growth for mandatory programs if Congress fails to meet deficit reduction targets;
• Reinstates statutory caps on discretionary spending; and
• Creates a point of order against direct spending that is triggered when the Medicare program becomes insolvent, which is projected to occur in seven years or less.

In addition, the S.O.S. Act, which was introduced by Senate Budget Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and co-sponsored by Isakson and several other senators, will create two new bi-partisan commissions. The first will study the accountability and efficiency of government programs. The second commission will examine and provide solutions to the impending entitlement crisis.

"One of the problems we have in Congress with deficit spending is spending money on projects that by anybody's definition are projects that shouldn’t be funded with tax dollars,” Isakson said. “So this is about changing our budget process and putting in spending priorities."

Isakson’s co-sponsorship of the S.O.S. Act is his latest step toward honoring the pledge he made in his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate to support legislation to curb federal spending and to demand more accountability from programs that receive federal dollars. The other bills Isakson has co-sponsored to end reckless spending are:

• A constitutional amendment would allow the President to use the line-item veto to either eliminate or reduce appropriations in any bill passed by the Congress.
• The Government Reorganization and Program Performance Improvement Act creates a commission that will require Congress and the Executive Branch to regularly and formally examine whether Federal programs and agencies are achieving desired results for the American people.

• The Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies Act establishes a bipartisan commission to review federal agencies and programs in an effort to eliminate federal spending on programs that are duplicative, wasteful, inefficient or outdated.

• The Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act would require the president to submit a two-year budget – rather than the current one-year budget – at the beginning of the first session of a Congress. Members of Congress would then adopt a two-year budget resolution, a reconciliation bill if necessary and two-year appropriations bills during that first session. The second session of a Congress would then be devoted to the consideration of authorization bills and oversight of federal programs.   

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