Reducing Our Deficit through Responsible Long-Term Solutions 

We cannot continue to spend more than we take in, year after year. The surpluses of the late 1990’s were followed by a decade of record spending and now we must make painful cuts to get our budget back on track. While some have called for deep cuts to Head Start and cancer research, Chris strongly believes that we need a strategic approach that combines targeted cuts with critical investments in our economic competitiveness. As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, he is closely studying our spending with an eye toward identifying opportunities for savings.

Chris’ budget priorities include:

• Responsibly cutting government spending while ensuring investments in American competitiveness. Responsible governance means approaching budget cuts with a scalpel instead of a hacksaw. Our spending cuts must be strategic and fit into a larger agenda to promote economic growth. While we maintain the crucial investments we need in American competitiveness, we must also be responsible with cuts to ensure that those who have struggled most in this recession are not faced with the elimination or reduction of critical programs that serve them.
• Eliminating programs that are outdated or redundant. One way we can save money while making government more efficient is by eliminating outdated programs and redundancies. Americans deserve a government that works well and does not waste taxpayer funds. 
• Studying and implementing long-term solutions to reducing our deficit and curbing our national debt. We cannot sustain a long-term debt. We would be well served to study and implement real solutions that will reduce and eliminate our debt over the long-term, including entitlement reform, tax reform, and Pentagon spending. Chris will continue to work closely with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reach meaningful compromises that truly address our debt problem.
• Cutting spending in Congress. Chris has called for an across-the-board cut to the budgets of all Congressional offices as a means for cutting additional spending. As Congress looks for ways to cut additional spending from this year’s budget, Senator Coons has called on Congress to cut its own operating budget as well. Though the savings from these cuts will not solve our fiscal problems, he believes it is important for Congress to lead by example and share in the sacrifices we will ask families in Delaware and across the country to make.
• Eliminating “orphan” earmarks. A return to fiscal discipline requires Congress crack down on wasteful or unnecessary earmarks. Senator Coons has cosponsored legislation that would rescind funds for so-called orphaned earmarks. Specifically, the bill would rescind earmarks that remain 90 percent or more unused nine years after being appropriated, with the possibility of holding funds one more year for earmarks the agency head believes will be funded within the following 12 months. The legislation could return as much as $500 million to taxpayers.