July 27, 2007

Congress Has a Spending Problem

By Congressman Joe Pitts

As the House continues working through the annual appropriations process, approving two more bills recently, it is a good time to discuss fiscal responsibility.

Each year, Congress goes through the process of laying out a budget for the next fiscal year.  Then, using that budget as a guide, Congress provides funding by way of the appropriations process for all federal government programs and agencies.  While the process itself can become complicated with legislative procedure, it is important to remember that, at its core, Congress’ budget process is no different than the budget process of every family in Pennsylvania.

Families must make decisions each day about their spending priorities.  Unfortunately, some Members of Congress forget they are spending the hard earned money of families from Pennsylvania and all across the United States.  On paper, it can be easy to get lost in the commas and zeroes and forget that each dollar Congress spends is one less dollar in the family budget of someone in Lancaster, Chester, or Berks Counties.  But, keeping this in perspective is one of our most important jobs as lawmakers.  When lawmakers lose sight of this reality, spending increases, and taxes as well.

The problem with the spending levels embraced by the new Democratic majority in Congress is there are only two ways to pay for spending.  The first is higher taxes – taking money from family budgets today.  The second is deficit spending – taking money from future generations.  I do not believe either of these two represents responsible governance.  Congress needs to live within its means.

The budget passed by the Democratic leadership for the coming fiscal year exceeded the President’s budget level by $22 billion; a nine percent increase.  I know the families in my district wish they could increase their budgets by nine percent on a whim.  The truth is though, most family budgets will not increase by nine percent this year, and in order to pay for that $22 billion in additional spending, and $200 billion over the next five years, the same Democrat budget will raise taxes by nearly $400 billion.

With each appropriations bill that passes that is above and beyond both last year’s level as well as the President’s budget, Congress is excusing itself from making the difficult decisions necessary to be fiscally responsible.  In doing so, taxpayers are being punished.

Again, high spending levels are either punishing current taxpayers, or future taxpayers.  I believe people know how to spend their money better than the government does.  This is why I have worked during my time in Congress to find savings in the budget and reduce wasteful government programs.  It simply does not make sense to ask families to make difficult budgetary decisions so that Congress can grow the budget in Washington, D.C. 

Of the 10 appropriations bills passed so far in the House this year, eight have been above the level in the President’s budget, and all 10 have come in at a higher spending level than last year, with increases of nine, 13 and even 30 percent over last year’s levels.  In fact, the total amount appropriated in the spending bills passed in the House this year represents a whopping $38.6 billion increase over last year.

I remain committed to fiscal responsibility in the very clearest sense.  I will continue to work to rein in federal spending so that we can pay down the national debt and keep tax rates low, allowing families to keep more of their hard earned money for their household budget.   

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