NEW CONGRESS COMMITS TO FIXING BROKEN BUDGET

by U.S. Rep. John Tanner

One of the first actions of the new Congress when it convened this month was to put back in place common-sense budget rules that will restore transparency, responsibility and accountability to the way the federal government operates and spends taxpayer money.

The Blue Dog Coalition and I have been discussing these principles publicly for years and were pleased to see them adopted by the House of Representatives. Among the reform measures are: 

Congressman Tanner discusses fiscal reform with other members of the Blue Dog Coalition after meeting with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Jan. 5. From left, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, Rep. Mike Ross, Tanner, Rep. Allen Boyd.

Reinstating pay-as-you-go rules.

Every household and business in Tennessee follows this simple principle: If you want to spend money on something new, you have to cut spending somewhere else in your budget.

In six years, our federal budget has gone from surplus to the highest deficits in our country’s history, helping escalate our federal debt to $8.6 trillion, much of which is owed to foreign countries such as China and Japan.

With Congress’ new commitment to paying its bills as it goes, we are back on a path toward eliminating deficit spending.

Holding hearings to keep track of taxpayer dollars.

Out of 24 federal agencies, 18 were unable to produce an acceptable audit of how they are spending billions of tax dollars, according to analysis by the Government Accountability Office after the 2005 budget year. The previous Congressional leaders, however, refused to hold investigative hearings to ask how the money has been spent and why it was unaccounted for.

The current Congressional leaders have made it clear they will exercise Congress’ constitutional duty of oversight to ask these tough questions. 

Making the budget process more transparent.

Some lawmakers have abused the “earmarks” process Congress uses to determine funding for many programs by anonymously requesting money for such projects as the $230 million Alaskan “bridge to nowhere” and the $50 million indoor rainforest in Iowa. Oftentimes, these items have been written in to lengthy legislation at the last minute, and their sponsors have been unwilling to support the funding publicly.

These abuses have eroded the public’s trust in the federal budgeting process and have given a bad name to other important projects that deserve funding.

For example, we recently broke ground on a new port and industrial park on the Mississippi River that will bring an estimated 5,000 new jobs to northwest Tennessee. I have publicly supported this project and have proudly worked to secure funding to help its development because of the positive impact it will have on a part of our state that is among the most economically distressed regions in the country.

Similarly, I have been working with Fort Campbell officials to accelerate the funding of a wounded warrior center. This important rehabilitation facility is slated to be built in 2010, but we felt it is needed before then to benefit the brave men and women who are serving us today in Afghanistan and Iraq.

These new budget reforms, enacted in the early days of the 110^th Congress, will make funding requests transparent, hold the federal government accountable for how it spends tax dollars and get our nation back on a path toward balancing the federal budget so our children and grandchildren won’t spend their whole lives paying off this generation’s debts to other countries.

Congressman John Tanner represents Tennessee’s 8^th district in West and Middle Tennessee. He is a founding member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and as chairman of the US delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the alliance’s civilian arm.

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Contact: Randy Ford, 202.225.4714