After a hard-fought battle, I am relieved to see that Washington will no longer continue to recklessly spend our grandchildren’s future. On Wednesday night, I voted to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which alters our fiscal trajectory and takes much-needed measures to remedy the Federal government's spending problem. This landmark legislation lowers non-defense discretionary spending, excluding veterans’ benefits, to below FY 2022 levels and only allows for 1% growth for the next six years. The bill forces Congress to have a true functioning appropriations process and, if for two years any Congress were to not adhere to these principles, it automatically imposes a spending cap until such is corrected.
The legislation puts forward numerous commonsense reforms to an intractable Washington spending problem. It reins in dictatorial Executive Branch spending by enacting the first ever statutory administrative PAYGO, thus preventing the Biden Administration from spending billions via regulatory edict. It creates a pathway out of poverty for Americans by reforming work requirements for welfare programs. It also streamlines our onerous permitting system so America can once again develop its own energy resources and build long overdue infrastructure in a timely manner.
“Most importantly, the Fiscal Responsibility Act does NOT result in new taxes that President Biden wanted and does NOT touch Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits. It actually increases our nation’s investment in our veterans and defense. It claws back unspent COVID money and slashes funding to the IRS for more agents, both byproducts of an unchecked radical Democrat majority.
This legislation represents just the start of the changes we need in Washington. With over $31 trillion in national debt – larger than our entire economy – much more hard work awaits us to prevent future bankruptcy. I spoke in favor of this bill on the House Floor this week, which you can watch by clicking here or on the image below.
