Dreier Leads First YouCut Debate on House Floor
WASHINGTON, DC – Rules Committee Ranking Republican and House Republican Economic Recovery Working Group (ERWG) Member is leading the first
YouCut
debate on the floor of the House today and will be forcing a vote on the
first choice
of over a quarter of a million Americans to reduce wasteful, duplicative spending: $2.5 billion for the New Non-Reformed Welfare to Work Program. Dreier praised the efforts of House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and the ERWG Members in launching the successful program aimed at ending the culture of spending in Congress. Portions of Congressman Dreier’s floor statement are below:
“Americans are tired of the reckless spending, outraged at the lack of accountability, and deeply concerned about the consequences for our fledgling economic recovery – now, and for future generations. After months of countless phone calls, emails, letters and town hall meetings, they are asking themselves – why won’t Washington listen? Why is our demand for fiscal responsibility not getting through? Why is the Majority refusing, for the first time in modern Congressional history, to even consider a budget?
“My answer to them is that
some
of us are getting their message loud and clear. The Democratic Majority might refuse to listen, but Republicans are serious about reining in spending. Though we’ve been barred by the Majority from making significant reforms, we are using every tool at our disposal to force some accountability into the spending process.
“One such effort is the You Cut project, which was launched last week on the Republican Whip’s web site. Americans had the opportunity to voice their opinion on specific spending cuts, and nearly 300,000 individuals made their thoughts known. The proposed cut that drew the most votes was a welfare program that was expanded in the so-called stimulus bill, without including any requirements that able-bodied recipients return to work. Common sense dictates that an era of fiscal crisis is no time for creating open-ended welfare programs. Cutting this program will save the taxpayers $2.5 billion. And today, we are going to hold the Democratic Majority’s feet to the fire and demand a vote on this spending cut.
“When we vote today on the previous question, Members of both parties will have the opportunity to state very clearly whether they are in the camp of fiscal discipline or reckless spending.
“We will continue this You Cut program in the weeks ahead. Every week, Americans will have the opportunity to vote for the spending cut they’d like to see most. And every week Republicans will demand a vote on the winning cut. Can we eliminate the deficit in one fell swoop? Of course not. Anyone who’s ever had to take responsibility for a budget knows that there’s no magic wand that fixes all problems. It takes hard choices, one cut at a time. But with discipline and perseverance, we can restore fiscal accountability in Washington.
“The Democratic Majority has made it clear that left to their own devices, they will continue to spend our nation into insolvency. They’ve put up every conceivable roadblock to accountability, but they cannot sidestep today’s vote. We are ensuring that 300,000 Americans’ voices are heard.
“Anyone who cares about spending in Washington will have the opportunity to see how their Representative voted. And they will continue to have that opportunity, week after week, as the You Cut program goes forward.
“There are a number of tactics that can be employed to prevent fiscal accountability, and the Democratic Majority has tried them all. But ultimately the will of the American people will find a way around the roadblocks, and their voices will be heard. I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question and give the Members of this body the chance to respond to the overwhelming call to restore discipline and accountability here in Washington.”
See the complete video below:
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