FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT:
|
February 2, 2004 |
Kate Dwyer: 202-226-7326
|
Ryan: Bush Budget Doesn’t Go Far Enough to Cut
Spending; Announces New Initiative to Reform Budget Process
WASHINGTON – Following the
release of the President’s budget proposal today, Wisconsin’s First District
Congressman Paul Ryan commented on the need for spending discipline and called
on Congress to reform the process it relies on every year to spend tax dollars.
Ryan said:
“The President’s budget takes some good steps toward
reforming the broken budget process and restraining spending, but it doesn’t
nearly go far enough.”
“We’re
at the start of a new budget season, and there’s no better time to look at how
the government goes about spending taxpayers’ money. Businesses must be accountable for their finances, and so
should the federal government. By
improving Washington’s accounting practices, we can get a more accurate and
honest picture of how the government spends our tax dollars and how much is in
the Treasury. And we need a
complete overhaul of our budget process to make it easier to rein in excess
spending.”
Rep. Ryan has been a principle author of budget process
reform legislation in the House of Representatives. Later this week, Ryan, along
with Reps. Hensarling of Texas, Cox of California, and Chocola of Indiana will
introduce new consensus legislation to fix the broken budget process.
“Even
when the President and Congress agree overall on the need to keep spending in
check, the current budget process doesn’t encourage thrift. It practically invites the government to spend beyond its
means,” Ryan said.