Fiscal Responsibility Archives - Congresswoman Cheri Bustos

Protecting Hardworking Taxpayers and Getting Our Fiscal House in Order

The current budget deficit, created by generations of lawmakers in Washington, is a serious problem that did not get created overnight and will not get solved overnight either. But by working together, we can take commonsense steps that will move our country in the right direction.

Like so many across our district, I learned at a young age that balancing the family pocketbook and living within our means is a question of values. I believe that what we cannot do is balance the federal budget on the backs of middle class families, seniors, students and veterans while cutting taxes for big oil companies, corporations that ship our jobs overseas and millionaires and billionaires on Wall Street.

What we can, and should do, is start by rooting out instances of government waste, fraud and abuse so that we can strengthen Medicare and expand Social Security.

That’s why as my first piece of legislation, I introduced the Government Waste Reduction Act, a common sense bill that would reduce duplicative services and root out waste in government, while preserving crucial services and programs. And in 2015, I introduced and passed The Improper Payments Coordination Act to save taxpayer dollars by utilizing 21st century data analytics to eliminate improper payments and rein in waste and fraud across federal agencies.

There’s still a lot of work ahead to get Washington in order, but I’m committed to using my watchdog role in Congress to protect hardworking taxpayers.

More on Fiscal Responsibility

Press Release

December 11, 2019

U.S. Reps. Bustos, Craig, Meadows and Gianforte Introduce Bill to Tackle Government Waste

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Angie Craig (MN-02), Mark Meadows (NC-11) and Greg Gianforte (MT – At large) introduced a bipartisan bill that would save significant taxpayer dollars by cutting down on government waste in the form of overpayments, underpayments, improperly documented payments or payments made to ineligible recipients. In FY2018 […]

Press Release

May 23, 2019

Bustos Helps Pass Legislation to Strengthen Illinoisans Ability to Save for Retirement

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL) voted in favor of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. This legislation will help hardworking Illinoisans save for retirement by providing assistance to small businesses, home health workers and beyond. In addition, it corrects the damaging consequences the GOP Tax Scam has had on […]

Press Release

May 6, 2019

Bustos & Gianforte Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Protect Taxpayer Dollars

WASHINGTON – Today, Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Greg Gianforte (R-MT) reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased Individuals Act. This legislation would allow all federal agencies access to the Death Master File, which is maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and contains the most complete information on individuals who are reported […]

Press Release

January 9, 2019

Bustos Votes To Ensure Illinois Families Receive Tax Refunds Without Delay and to Reopen Treasury, Key Agencies

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) voted to pass legislation to fund the Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for fiscal year 2019, mitigating the financial burdens on Illinois families caused by President Trump’s government shutdown. “Illinois families sent me to Washington to fight for them, and it is my job […]