Fiscal Reform & the Economy
Rep. Whitfield speaks about jobs at the GE Aviation Plant in Madisonville
Our current runaway spending threatens America’s competitive and economic success. We must address this crisis and I am committed to making tough decisions to get our country back on track and our fiscal situation in order.
Congress must take responsibility for difficult financial decisions – just like families in the First Congressional District do every day. Our nation is currently $14 trillion in debt and the national unemployment rate has been at a higher than normal average, resulting in the nation’s longest jobless streak since the Great Depression. The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate is even higher than the national average. By instituting commonsense government reforms and reducing government spending, I am committed to doing everything he can to promote job growth in our Kentucky communities and get our economy back on track.
In the current session of Congress, I have supported several bills which cut billions of dollars in wasteful government spending, including H.R. 1, which would fund the federal government for the duration of Fiscal Year 2011 while making $100 billion in necessary cuts to federal programs. In addition, an amendment I proposed to H.R. 1, which was accepted by the full House, would reduce by $1.5 million dollars the budget for the House of Representatives’ operations.
(Click the titles below to expand and read more)
Biennial Budget Proposal
I have partnered with Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) in introducing H.R. 114, ‘The Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act.’ I am confident that this proposal is one way to trim wasteful government spending is to reform and streamline the federal budget process. In 1974, Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act, which was intended to give the President and Congress a timeline on which to base a budget and appropriations bills. As often seen in the news, the Budget Act has resulted in an annual rush to pass appropriation and spending bills, usually late in the evening at the end of a Congressional session, resulting in poorly written legislation that is rushed through the consideration and amendment process. This rush also reduces the amount of time available for careful oversight and management of existing federal programs. Along with Rep. Dreier, I believe that a biennial budget would result in a more transparent process and better fiscal management of our nation.
# # #
