Budget and Taxes
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger ran his own business, so he knows what it’s like to make a payroll and meet a budget. As Baltimore County Executive, he was required to submit a balanced budget for eight years and was repeatedly honored for his responsible financial management. Now in Congress, he believes the same common sense principles should be applied to the federal budget. Dutch believes:
The government shouldn’t spend more than it can afford.
Dutch has voted for, and even cosponsored, balanced budget amendments. Now, as our country continues to rebuild, he joined a bipartisan coalition encouraging a minimum $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.
As Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, Dutch worked with the Republican Chairman to cut $1 billion from the budgets of 16 intelligence agencies without affecting their missions by conducting program review and eliminating all unnecessary, wasteful and duplicative spending. Now as an Appropriator, he thinks the same should be done across the federal budget. Priority must be given to job-creating investments, such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.
Sequestration must be replaced with a balanced budget solution.
While Congress recently passed legislation that lifts the across-the-board budget caps known as sequestration for two years, this is only a Band-aid fix. Unless completely repealed, sequestration will continue to have a disproportionate impact here in Maryland, which is home to many federal agencies and contractors that employee thousands of residents.
Bipartisan groups that have looked at our deficit challenge such as Bowles-Simpson have all concluded that we cannot achieve financial stability without a balanced package that includes both tax cuts and new revenues where appropriate. Dutch agrees.
Tax reform should be addressed comprehensively.
Dutch supported extending the Bush tax cuts for the vast majority of American households and, more recently, joined 77 other Democrats in voting for a tax extenders bill that includes $650 billion in tax relief for businesses and individuals, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit. He has sponsored legislation to increase the $1,000 child care tax credit and make it permanent since 2007.
That said, Dutch believes our entire tax code should be updated and simplified comprehensively. We should have lower individual and corporate tax rates and fewer brackets and we should get rid of unfair loopholes and tax breaks for certain industries such as oil and gas companies.
Related Cosponsorships
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2015
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2015
American Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2015
Child Tax Credit Permanency Act of 2015
Earned Income Tax Credit Improvement and Simplification Act of 2015
Small Business Tax Credit Accessibility Act
Shortline Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015
Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act of 2015
More on Budget and Taxes
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Anthony G. Brown, and Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.) today announced the recent award of $29,859,429 for 83 projects to counter homelessness in central Maryland through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. These projects are spread throughout Baltimore City and Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Carroll, and Anne Arundel Counties.
Washington, DC) – Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger today voted in favor of two bipartisan funding agreements that will have a far-reaching impact on the Second District and Maryland, home to 77 federal and military agencies as well as tens of thousands of government workers. The bill grants these employees a 3.1 percent pay raise and provides $294.5 million in new funding for defense-related projects here in Maryland.
Both bills passed the U.S. House of Representatives and are expected to soon be passed by the U.S. Senate.
Baltimore, MD) – U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes (all D-Md.) today announced $4,608,210 in new federal funding to boost safety initiatives in Baltimore City and County. The funding, provided through the U.S. Department of Justice, includes:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Representatives Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, and Anthony Brown (all D-Md.) have announced $225,000 in federal funding for the Anne Arundel County Police Department to process DNA samples.
WASHINGTON – Following a Maryland congressional delegation meeting with Maryland Secretary of Transportation Pete K. Rahn, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone released the following joint statement in response to the news that Maryland officials and CSX have identified additional funding to expand the Howard Street Tunnel.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes (all D-Md.) today applauded the recent award of $311,523 to the Howard County Housing Commission through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher program. These vouchers will help individuals with disabilities obtain market-rate housing in the county.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Steny Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie Raskin, and David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced the award of more than $13,866,000 for the improvement and modernization of bus systems throughout Maryland from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (49 U.S.C. 5339). This federal funding will support the replacement, rehabilitation, purchase, or lease of buses, related equipment, and/or facilities.
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, along with Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes (all D-Md.) announced $2,550,000 for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, based in Baltimore, Md. The funding, awarded though the U.S.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Steny Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, and Anthony G. Brown (all D-Md.) are applauding the recent award of more than $8,549,000 in federal funds for Anne Arundel County through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program. These funds will enable the county to hire additional career firefighters.
Washington, D.C. (September 26, 2019) -- Today U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, along with Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, and John Sarbanes announced $9.7 million in federal funding to address lead-based paint in Baltimore. The funding, awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will allow Baltimore to work to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in low-income private housing.