Budget

Southern Wisconsin’s families continue to work hard to make ends meet in an uncertain economy. The unemployment rate in Wisconsin is high at 7.3%, while the national unemployment rate is 7.7%. The manufacturing sector – the cornerstone of Wisconsin’s economy for generations – is still struggling to create and keep jobs. While private sector unemployment has decreased, the size and scope of the federal government workforce has expanded dramatically. Congress needs to place top priority on job creation and controlling federal spending, including the severe problems that lie ahead if we do not strengthen Medicare and Social Security. With 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, these programs continue to take up a larger portion of our budget each year, and threaten to crowd out other government spending and hurt our economy if left unaddressed. As Chairman of the House Budget Committee, I have a responsibility to help improve accountability, to monitor federal spending, and to prevent taxpayer money from being wasted and misspent, while putting forward long-term solutions to our entitlement crisis. If families across the country can tighten their belts and cut spending, so can our federal government.

Increasing Federal Spending, Rising Deficits, Mounting National Debt, More Tax Increases

On March 29, 2012, the House passed the budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, The Path to Prosperity.  Unfortunately, it has been over 1000 days since the Senate Majority introduced or passed a budget.  Because of this, the Federal government continues to operate without a budget.  Families and businesses do not budget in this irresponsible, on-the-fly manner, and as Chairman of the House Budget Committee, I will lead efforts to return to a normal and accountable budget process.

The President’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013

At a time when strong leadership is needed in the White House, President Obama's proposed budget, in the words of The Washington Post, "falls short." Failing to heed the warnings of economists and the concerns of our fellow Americans, the President's budget accelerates our country down the path to bankruptcy. In the three years since President Obama was sworn into office, the national debt has increased 45 percent, from $10.6 trillion to more than $15 trillion. The President's FY2013 budget contains massive tax increases, does nothing to pay down our crippling national debt, and continues the trend of out of control government spending.  By his own projections, this budget would propel the national debt to $26 trillion by 2022. Along with adding $11 trillion to the national debt, his budget would impose a $1.9 trillion tax hike, creating more uncertainty for American families and businesses.  The House recently had the opportunity to vote on President Obama's budget proposal for FY2013, and unanimously rejected the President's proposal, by a vote of 0 – 414, a clear indication that Republicans and Democrats alike did not believe the President put forth a credible plan to address America's challenges.

Path to Prosperity

House Republicans have pledged to lead where the President has failed.  The budget advanced by the House of Representatives on March 29, 2012 helps spur job creation today, stops spending money the government does not have, and lifts the crushing burden of debt.  The Path to Prosperity cuts more than $5 trillion in spending from the President's budget over the next 10 years, putting the budget on the path to balance and the economy on the path to prosperity.  Specifically, the budget:

• Restores Economic Freedom – The Path to Prosperity fosters a better environment for private-sector job creation by lifting the debt-fueled uncertainty and advancing pro-growth tax reforms.

• Changes Washington’s Culture of Spending – The budget stops Washington from spending money it does not have on government programs that do not work.  It locks in spending cuts with enforceable spending controls.

• Strengthens Health and Retirement Security – The budget puts an end to empty promises from Washington, offering instead real security through real reforms.  The framework established in this budget ensures no disruptions to existing health and retirement benefit programs for those beneficiaries who have organized their retirements around them, while at the same time building stronger programs that future beneficiaries can count on when they retire.

• Provides for the Common Defense – With American men and women in uniform currently engaged with a fierce enemy and dealing with emerging threats around the world, this budget takes several steps to ensure that national security remains the Federal  government’s top priority, including the rejection of proposals to make thoughtless, across-the-board cuts in funding for national defense.

• Lifts the Crushing Burden of – The budget tackles the existential threat posed by rapidly growing government and debt, applying the nation’s timeless principles to this generation’s greatest challenge.  It ensures that the next generation inherits a stronger, more prosperous America. 

It is unconscionable to leave the next generation with a crushing burden of debt and a nation in decline. The choice of two futures presented in the House-passed FY2013 budget is premised on the wisdom of the American people to build a prosperous future for themselves and for future Americans to come. Today, America is struggling — these are tough times and people are rightfully anxious about the future. But as the challenge grows, so does the opportunity to restore America's promise and prosperity. This budget recommits the federal government to the security of every American citizen's natural right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, while fostering an environment for economic growth and private-sector job creation.

Fixing the Broken Budget Process

Our debt is the product of massive spending increases that occurred under many Presidents and many Congresses over many years.  The budget process is broken and is leading to runaway spending and mounting debt.  The Senate Majority has ignored the budget process altogether and failed to pass a budget in over 1000 days.  In addition, over 60 percent of the budget is on automatic pilot and lies outside the regular control of Congress.  It is important to fix these failures of our current budget process with detailed proposals so we can get our spending and debt under control.  To do this, members of the House Budget Committee introduced a series of reform bills designed to streamline the budget process and give policymakers new tools to bring spending under control, to enhance oversight, and to increase transparency in the budget process.  These bills propose spending caps, regular review of government programs, and government shutdown prevention measures. One of these bills is H.R. 3521, the Expedited Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011, which Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and I introduced on November 30, 2011. This bipartisan bill would allow the President to identify individual spending items contained within an appropriations bill and send them back to Congress for an up-and-down vote, without affecting the remaining items in the original bill. This bipartisan initiative would give the President a tool to go after unjustified spending, while also protecting Congress’s constitutional authority to make spending decisions. H.R. 3521 was passed in the House on February 8, 2012, by a vote of 254 – 173, and has been sent to the Senate for further action.

In order for budget process reform to work, Members of Congress must have the will to make it work.  There is no procedural reform that can displace the need for political courage and principled leadership to get the government’s fiscal house in order.  The nation’s leaders owe it to the country to offer bold solutions within that process to tackle the drivers of the debt, putting the budget back on the path to balance and the economy on the path to prosperity.

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