WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Tanner and other members of the Blue Dog Coalition today announced a 12-step budget reform plan to fix the federal budget, which is in its third year of record-high deficits.

“I don’t think most Americans realize how deeply their tax dollars are being mismanaged,” Congressman Tanner said. “The result is more borrowing that has to be paid off down the road. It is a generational assault on people under 40.”

Congress and the Administration have added more than $1 trillion to the debt held by the public – much of it borrowed from foreign investors – in the past four years. The current budget path will require trillions of dollars in additional borrowing over the next 10 years.

“Our budget process is broken,” Tanner said. “The Blue Dog Reform Plan is the first step toward fixing it.”

The 12-Step Reform Plan is based on the Blue Dogs’ commitment to solving growing fiscal problems facing our country. The legislation calls for the following actions:

1. Require a balanced budget.

2. Don't let Congress buy on credit. Congress should re-enact "pay-as-you-go" rules that require any new spending must be paid for by cuts in other programs or additional revenue.

3. Put a lid on spending. Government spending has soared by more than 16% since 2001.

4. Require agencies to put their fiscal houses in order. According to the non-partisan Government Accounting Office, 16 of 23 major federal agencies cannot issue a simple audit of their books, and the federal government cannot account for $24.5 billion it spent in 2003. The Blue Dogs propose a budget freeze for any agency that cannot properly balance its books.

5. Make Congress tell taxpayers how much they are spending through recorded votes.

6. Set aside a rainy-day fund for national emergencies.

7. Don’t hide votes to raise the debt limit.

8. Justify, in writing, spending for pet projects.

9. Ensure that Congress reads the bills it is voting on. Too often, bills are pushed through Congress before Members even have time to read the legislation, which can be hundreds of pages long.

10. Require honest cost estimates for every bill Congress votes on. Taxpayers and Members of Congress deserve to know how much each bill costs.

11. Make sure new bills fit the budget.

12. Make Congress do a better job of keeping tabs on government programs.

Congressman Tanner serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. He is a founding member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 35 moderate and conservative Democrats known as fiscal hawks.

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Contact: Randy Ford, 202.225.4714