Fiscal Responsibility

Like every family in America, the federal government must learn to live within its means. It is simply irresponsible to continue to rack up trillions of dollars in debt and then stick our children with the bill. I am proud that when I served on the Dublin City Council we balanced our budget each year. We can and we must reduce the federal budget deficit over time.

Deficit reduction needs to be balanced and smart, however, and include appropriate revenue increases. We must make sure the very wealthiest among us are contributing their fair share.

The federal government also must carefully review its spending to eliminate old, wasteful programs, update current ones for the 21st century, and make strategic investments to promote economic growth in the future. Spending reductions should be targeted and smart, not across-the-board cuts which reduce all programs equally regardless of merit. We can cut foolish spending without cutting foolishly.

​For example, I voted against the Trump tax “reform plan,” which gave working Americans crumbs while delivering tremendous cuts to corporations and the rich and exploding the national debt by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. It passed with unanimous opposition by Democrats in the House and Senate; it was signed into law by President Trump. Beyond its fiscal impact, the bill is unfair and will be detrimental to working families: 86 million middle-class households face a tax increase under the bill in the future and 13 million Americans will lose health insurance. By 2027, the top one percent would get 80 percent of the tax cuts.

What I'm doing for you:

I cosponsored H.R. 613, the SALT Deductibility Act, a bipartisan bill to fully repeal the federal $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deduction imposed by the Trump Tax Law of 2017 so that taxpayers can fully deduct their state and local taxes on their federal income returns. The 2017 cap resulted in a tax increase for many middle-class families.

I cosponsored H.R. 946, the Stop the Attack on Local Taxpayers (SALT) Act, to fully repeal the federal $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deduction imposed by the Trump Tax Law of 2017. Providing further tax relief to families struggling during the pandemic, this bill also eliminates the cap retroactively. Further, this bill restores the top individual income tax rate to 39.6%, the rate at which the highest bracket was taxed prior to passage of the Trump Tax Law. (I previously cosponsored this as H.R. 1142 in the 116th Congress.)

I'm an original cosponsor of H.R. 695, the USPS Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill to provide the United States Postal Service with much-needed financial relief by eliminating an unfair pension pre-funding mandate. By eliminating this mandate, the USPS would instead be able to invest in its operations while maintaining its annual commitment to current and future retirees, like every other federal agency.