Congressman Flake Introduces the Debt Buy-Down Act of 2010

     Federal spending is out of control, and Congress is either unable or unwilling to pursue meaningful steps toward reining in the national debt.  Congress may not be ready to tackle the debt, but taxpayers are. In order to let taxpayers directly affect the process, Congressman Flake, along with Senator John McCain, has introduced H.R. 5536, the Debt Buy-Down Act of 2010.

Background

     Taxpayers have watched record levels of deficit spending and the level of the national debt soar to unprecedented levels. With global economic upheaval, concern over federal spending is front and center.

     The 2010 fiscal year deficit is estimated to be a record-breaker, coming in at $1.5 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that based on the President's budget, deficits will average nearly $1 trillion for a decade. At that rate, the U.S. debt will reach $20 trillion by the end of the decade.  Based on recent history with spending, Members of Congress will be unlikely to do anything to prevent from reaching that $20 trillion mark.
    
     With Congress seemingly unwilling or unable to rein in spending, the time has come to give taxpayers the opportunity to take action and the flexibility to direct their tax dollars to deficit reduction if they choose.

The Bill Language

     The Debt Buy-Down Act would require the IRS to include a check-off on tax forms providing taxpayers the flexibility to voluntarily designate that up to 10% of their tax liability be put toward debt reduction. In order to ensure that reductions in the debt are protected, the bill also requires an equal amount of permanent reductions in federal spending.

     The bill requires spending reductions for the coming year (in order to ensure that gains in debt reductions are protected in the coming year). Congress has an opportunity to pass spending reductions equal to the amount of debt reduction designate by taxpayers. Otherwise, the spending reductions are gained via an across-the-board cut in program spending levels.

     The bill provides several exemptions in the event of an across-the-board cut, including Social Security benefits, benefits for the uniformed services, and payments for net interest.

     While revised and updated slightly, the Debt Buy-Down Act was originally introduced in the House as H.R. 6114 by Rep. Bob Walker (R-PA) and in the Senate as S. 3158 by Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) in the 102nd Congress. The bill was later introduced in the Senate by Sen. Smith in the 103rd (S. 449), 104th (S. 1108), & 105th (S. 580) Congresses and in the House by Rep. Walker in the 103rd (H.R. 429) and 104th (H.R. 13) and by Rep. Phil English (R-PA) in the 105th (H.R. 1914) and the 106th (H.R. 4626).

Support

     Several organizations in Washington dedicated to reducing America's debt have already expressed their support for the Debt Buy-Down Act. They include the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Americans for Tax Reform and the Americans for Tax Reform Center for Fiscal Accountability, National Taxpayers' Union, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Club for Growth,and Americans for Prosperity. President of Americans For Prosperity, Tim Phillips, said in a letter of support for the Debt Buy-Down Act that "it will be invigorating to see the country’s response to such a small but important change in the IRS form." The National Taxpayers' Union also wrote a letter of support for the Debt Buy-Down Act, as did Citizens Against Government Waste.

     A list of cosponsors of the Debt Buy-Down Act can be found here.

Additional Information