Early Friday morning, Congress passed the largest spending hike since President Obama’s 2009 stimulus plan. The Bipartisan Budget Act obliterated the spending caps currently set in law by more than all of the last cap adjustments combined. Architects of the deal claimed an increase of “only” $300 billion, but when combined with an additional $240 billion in off-budget spending, a year-long suspension of the debt ceiling, and policies that will expose taxpayers to more risk, the true price tag could be much, much higher.
This spending deal breaks the promise to taxpayers of savings under the Budget Control Act and jumpstarts a new era of massive deficits. In December 2017, taxpayers scored an enormous win with comprehensive tax reform. Today, this abdication of fiscal responsibility threatens the economic growth taxpayers had hoped to gain and raises the specter of tax hikes on future generations to foot this bill.
To that end, National Taxpayers Union (NTU) offers our sincere thanks and the gratitude of taxpayers across the nation to these lawmakers who opposed what they knew to be a bad deal, especially after Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) attempt to open up debate over amendments did not succeed.
Senators:
|
|
Representatives:
|
|
|
NTU President Pete Sepp stated, “For years we have urged Congress to make the tough decisions necessary to change the collision course of our fiscal ship. Many lawmakers chose to ignore that advice and instead ordered full speed ahead on an ever-deepening sea of red ink. The spending levels contained in the Bipartisan Budget Act are undisciplined, unsustainable, and unconscionable. The Members who took a bold stand against these excessive expenditures deserve a round of applause for recognizing the stark reality taxpayers are now facing.”