Washington has a spending problem. The national debt is now more than $21 trillion and the deficit could reach $1 trillion next year. Through his two budget requests to Congress, President Trump has proposed trillions of dollars in common-sense spending cuts. He has sought to eliminate outdated and ineffective programs across the federal government, ending the debt spiral.
Among the fiscal tools at Mr. Trump’s disposal is Title X of the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. That law gives the president authority to propose rescinding specific funding previously approved by Congress. Because such “rescissions” require Congress to pass new legislation, the law allows the president to freeze these funds for 45 days. Rescissions can be approved with simple majorities in both houses, meaning the Senate can’t block them with a filibuster.
At the direction of President Trump, the Office of Management and Budget has worked diligently to identify wasteful and unnecessary spending already approved by Congress. On Tuesday, President Trump will send Congress a $15.4 billion rescissions request, the largest ever using this authority.
While this authority hasn’t been used in nearly two decades, every president from Gerald Ford to Bill Clinton successfully rescinded funds. From 1974 to 2000, approximately 40% of presidential rescission proposals were enacted in some form. Members of Congress in both parties have supported rescissions packages similar to the one President Trump is proposing.
Mr. Trump’s rescissions package specifically goes after spending that is no longer necessary, has been diverted from its original intent, or has sat unused for years. The Energy Department’s loan program for Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing hasn’t actually made a loan since 2011. By acting on the administration’s proposal, Congress can now rescind more than $4.3 billion that has been idle for seven years.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program—which the administration strongly supports overall—contains $7 billion in funds that are either no longer necessary or can’t be spent because the authority to do so expired last year. Rescinding these funds will have no impact on the program. At some point Congress will likely “rescind” those funds as a budget gimmick to offset new spending elsewhere, as it did on the recently passed omnibus. Instead Congress should rescind the money now.
The Trump administration’s request would save $148 million in Agriculture Department funds intended for animal and plant disease outbreaks that have already been resolved. It would save $252 million at the U.S. Agency for International Development that was appropriated in fiscal 2015 for the Ebola response, which has largely concluded. Another proposal would save $47 million at the Federal Transit Administration from an account that has stagnated for 13 years. Yet another would reclaim taxpayer dollars from a Railroad Retirement Board program that ended in 2012.
The Trump administration and Congress must be responsible with each taxpayer dollar that comes to Washington. Every member of Congress should support these rescissions.
Over the past decade, it’s become increasingly apparent that Washington has no appetite for fiscal restraint. Unless the federal government as a whole commits to cutting spending and letting the economy grow, bloated deficits and outrageous levels of debt will haunt future generations. President Trump stands ready to put our fiscal house back in order and put the American taxpayer first. Does the rest of Washington?
Shared from Whitehouse.gov
RELATED: White House Calls Out Congressional Inaction On Immigration Loopholes
I will just say …. make sure the Democrats don’t get their hands on any of this accounts, as for sure it will be going to the illegals, and into the democrats bank accounts!! Anyone out there that believes different ….. is dumb and stupid!! God Bless
Should be “rein in” not reign in – geez
Updated. Thank you for noticing.
You didn’t have any trouble understanding what he meant we all make errors
Mr. Trump is President Trump’s son’s. It was and still is President Obama. Give President Trump the same respect.
I hope President Trump names, names so they can be told to quit spending money we do not have. Real taxpayers should not have to fund at IRS’s financial strangle hold on things like Abortion. No way should this abuse be tolerated. Pro lifers do not require pro-choicers to fund pro-life clinics this is abuse toward pro-lifers.
The term is ‘rein’ in not ‘reign’. A king doth reign. To stop a horse you ‘rein’ it in. I wish someone would check the grammar on these articles as they constantly use ‘sounds like’ but wrong spelled words. Another is many say someone ‘squash’ and action, when the correct word is ‘quash’ an action. Sorry for nit picking,,,,but they do get paid to write intelligent articles, so how about checking the article before publishing it. Thanks.
I type mistakes all the time don’t be so nitpicking
Yes, many wasteful spending can be eliminated. For example, on the Island Territory of Guam, it was reported in their daily newspaper that $85,000.00 in federal funds was spent for travel by an outgoing agency director of their local environmental protection office.
Where will any of the information gathered from his $85,000.00 travel expenses end up? It appears to be an enormous amount of money to attend a conference that he will not be able to effectively implement and utilize as an outgoing administration official.
Moreover, it appears that now he has been appointed to a position of Chief in their Customs and Quarantine Department after recently violating Federal Law by illegally importing butterfly knives from the Philippines. To add fuel to the fire, he attempted to have higher ups in the Guam Government release the illegally imported knives contrary to same federal laws.
You need a proofreader. “Reign???????” Gives the headline a totally incorrect meaning. The word is “REIN.”
Fair point. Thank you for noticing.
FOR MANY IN CONGRESS WHO KNOW HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED, ONCE PAST BUDGETED FUNDS STILL REMAINING IN PROGRAMS WHICH HAVE EXPIRED YEARS AGO, AND SEEMINGLY LAY DORMANT IN A STATE OF LIMBO, BUT IS STILL REAL CASH THAT CAN NO LONGER BE USED FOR THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM NOW DORMANT; THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO LIKE TO PLAY WITH THIS MONEY CACHE, WILL TRY TO EXPRESS WHAT A TERRIBLE LOSS IT WOULD BE TO THE CAUSE THAT FUND HAD BEEN ORIGINALLY EAR MARKED FOR. WHICH IS A BLATANT LIE, BECAUSE IT NO LONGER EXISTS WHEN THE TIME OF USE HAS EXPIRED. SO THE HONEST THING TO DO WITH ALL MONEY STILL IN THOSE DORMANT ACCOUNTS, IS TO RESCIND EACH ACCOUNT TO ELIMINATE ALL TRACES OF USELESS ACCOUNTS, FREEING THE MONEY EITHER BACK TO THE PUBLIC OR FOR ANOTHER USEFUL PURPOSE IN A REAL [BUT NOT IMAGINARY] PROGRAM. CHUCK
Please CORRECT YOUR SPELLING. THE WORD IS “REIN” INSTEAD OF “REIGN.” REIN IN WHAT WE DO TO SLOW OR HALT HORSES. REIGN REFERS TO RULING AS A KING. WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT RULING AS A KING OVER SPENDING. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CONTROLLING OR STOPPING EXCESSIVE SPENDING.
Cutting spending if handled correctly will have a number of very positive results. If that spending cut includes cutting the welfare payments to all of the Illegal Aliens it will save the country Billions in welfare and institute self deportation, if they are not getting any money and other free stuff all the Illegals will go home. The only reason they came here in the first place was because they knew that obama’s Socialist Regime wouldn’t deport them but would instead reward them with lots of free stuff. No free stuff, no reason to stay, they can be poor in their own country and they don’t need to press 1 for Spanish.
We’re talking about the demorats getting on board here. When was the last time that has happened since Trump became President. I’m not optimistic. One thing that is important here is the synonym for Democrats: collective stupid.
My ship sunk the only life boat is named ssTrump how many liberals will get in the life boat
Everyone should read the book by Congressman Ken Buck all the laws and programs that were
suppose to expire years ago but are still being funded by Congress. They should all be booted out
and stop the waste of $ being spent for stupid things that congress just keeps sending the money
and really are not even looking at to see if they are needed. They just have parties and both sides
agreeing to keep using our money whether it is necessary to do so or not.
Making America Great Again, not every other country.
No more pay raises for Congress and other’s that think it’s just there for the taking for their Special Interest and Lobbyist.
Defunding Sanctuary Cities harboring illegal’s in Our Country.
Give Our Veteran’s a Boost and Help Them. They Deserve It over Any Other’s.
Rescind this Mueller Eitch Hunt against Our Duly Elected President Trump. There is no collusion with Russia ( initial investigation parameter’s ).
Confirm those President Trump Nominees or get your pay docked for a month, Congress !
Thank You President Trump for your proposal on Saving Tax Payer’s some money in the long run.
Congress, Fund That Border Wall, Now !
I am amazed at the amount of effort that goes into “news programs”, speeches and comments made on such sites as this also. All of this is about power. Power can be good or bad, depends. Each American has loads of power but they don’t know it. The Admistrative Procedures Act was passed in 1948. It is codified in 5 USC. The big ticket for the public is 5 USC 553, paragraphs (c) and (e). But even government teachers at my kid’s high school don’t know anything about it. Also the Federal Register and the Federal Register act of 1933. I get my news from the Federal Register, by email. Check this out, and stop nitpicking the words in this blog, deal with stuff that matters.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/553
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USGPOOFR/subscriber/new
Jimmy
Forgot to mention on my previous comment today; I have been on the Trump Train from the beginning. I am 70 years old, a Vietnam Veteran Helicopter pilot, who from 1963 age 15 knew that the Democrat platform for limited war in Vietnam was stupid. There is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the finest President we have had in my life time; probably since Lincoln. We need a President and leaders through out America who are concerned with running each city, county, state and the United States properly, rather than their own political future. President Trump, started there, is there and the rest of the office holders and citizens need to pull it out and get on board! Deal with reality!