Issues
Deficit Reduction Budget Discipline
Since I was first elected to the Senate
in 1992, I have worked to bring Wisconsin's historic tradition
of fiscal responsibility to Congress, where wasteful spending
too often dominates the budget process. Congress owes it to
taxpayers to be a careful steward of their tax dollars.
For starters, given our current federal deficit, Congress
should follow the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rule and cut
down on earmarks to restore fiscal discipline.
I have led the effort to reinstate the common-sense PAYGO
budget rule, which requires that any new spending or new tax
cuts be paid for, so as not to make the budget deficit even
worse. This essential budget rule was allowed to expire a
few years ago, and the result has been disastrous. Budget
deficits have returned, and the total debt has mushroomed.
I was pleased that under the new Democratic leadership that
took over in 2007, PAYGO was restored. This is a long-overdue
first step toward returning to the fiscally responsible policies
that were instrumental in reducing annual budget deficits
during the 1990s, leading eventually to a balanced budget.
Another way to provide greater discipline to the budget process
is to cut back on unauthorized earmarks, which have skyrocketed
in number over the last decade. Earmarks are unauthorized
spending that get slipped into spending bills and avoid the
scrutiny of the regular committee process. I worked hard to
get a comprehensive Senate ethics reform bill signed into
law in September 2007; that legislation requires greater disclosure
of earmarks to the public on a searchable Internet database.
In April 2007, I also joined Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to introduce
a line-item veto bill to target wasteful earmarks, improve
congressional accountability, and deter lawmakers from inserting
pet spending projects into future bills.
Enforcing
Budget Discipline
Ending
Automatic Pay Raise for Members of Congress
Reducing
the Number of Political Appointees
Reducing
Irrigation Subsidies to Large Agribusinesses
Military
Base Closings
Related: Environment
- Environmental Protection Through Deficit Reduction
Related: Seniors
- Protecting Social Security
Related: National
Security - Defense Spending
Deficit
Reduction Main |
