Last week many of us watched as President Bush outlined his priorities for the coming year during his State of the Union address.  On Monday, he delivered his Fiscal Year 2007 budget to Congress, giving us the details of these priorities and his proposals for how to pay for them. 

With the arrival of the President’s plan on Capital Hill, Congress is set to begin another budget process. I am hopeful we can continue the positive momentum that started last year. Last year’s budget was one of the most fiscally responsible in memory.  Congress eliminated 53 wasteful and inefficient federal programs, non-defense spending was lower than previous year, and Member special projects were cut by $3 billion.  Congress also passed the comprehensive Deficit Reduction Act, providing nearly $40 billion in savings to taxpayers over the next five years. 

The President’s budget recommendations provide a good guideline for Congress to fund national security and economic priorities in a responsible way. As stewards of taxpayers dollars, Congress must rally together to ensure that our military and law enforcement agencies have the resources necessary to defend our nation, and American workers continue to have the tools to remain competitive in the global economy. The President’s budget offers solutions for funding these essential needs in a fiscally responsible manner, focused on promoting accountability and eliminating waste and abuse.  

As you know, final funding decisions for government programs are decided by Congress. As in years past, there will be some areas of disagreement. As Congress focuses on controlling spending and reducing the federal deficit, we must remain committed to improving the lives of veterans, active members of the military and their families. The President’s budget proposes a modest increase in veterans’ medical care, raising overall spending from $28.7 billion to $31.5 billion. Higher-income veterans without service related health needs would be required to pay an annual health care enrollment fee of $250. Co-payments for higher income veterans would also increase from $8 to $15 for monthly prescription drug supplies. The new fees and co-pays would apply to married veterans with household incomes above $37,250 and single veterans with annual incomes above $32,600. 

Though the rising cost of health care remains a serious concern, arbitrary cost-sharing increases are not the answer. Veterans and military retirees have earned these benefits through their service, and the commitments the government has made to them must be honored in full. These proposed increases are an erosion of benefits, and reflect a path to savings Congress should not be willing to follow.  

A particular priority for me this year will be earmark reform. Each year, Members of Congress are given an opportunity to direct federal dollars away from the bureaucrats in Washington and send funds directly to their home districts.  This is a privilege I have used from time to time to help meet needs in Kentucky’s Second District. The projects I have worked to secure money for have helped support community initiatives in areas such as health care, job training, and meth eradication efforts for local law enforcement officials. Unfortunately, this process has been abused by some and needs to be fixed.  

As discussions on earmark reform move forward, I am going to advocate changes to make the process more transparent and accountable.  Those of us in Congress must end the policy of adding projects to large bills in the last minutes of budget discussions. The process also needs to be managed with greater fairness. The residents of the Second District pay the same amount of taxes as other parts of the country and should receive the same return of federal dollars for community projects as every other congressional district.

These are critical budgetary times. Curbing discretionary spending through earmark reform and other proposals, eliminating and reducing programs not fulfilling essential needs, and reforming mandatory spending programs to levels of sustainable growth must be top priorities of this Congress. I am confident that we can adopt a fiscally responsible budget this year addressing these concerns without breaking promises to veterans or neglecting the needs of the most vulnerable among us.

As the process moves forward, I look forward to working with my colleagues to adopt a responsible budget that addresses the needs of Kentucky and our nation.

RON LEWIS
Member of Congress