Saving Money Where We Can

I am always looking for opportunities to curb government spending, even if they are small. Last week in the Financial Services and Science and Technology Committees, I had the opportunity to introduce a few amendments to bills that were up for a vote. In Financial Services, my amendment would have prohibited the creation of two new federal government insurance programs that could potentially cost up to $200 billion. In Science and Technology Committee, I offered an amendment that would delay the implementation of new federal programs in the America COMPETES Act until the government is no longer running a deficit. As you know, the deficit is currently projected to continue hitting, $1 trillion or more each year for the foreseeable future. At a time when we are borrowing 41 cents for every dollar the federal government spends, we simply cannot afford many of these new programs. Until the Congressional Budget Office certifies to Congress in writing that we no longer have a budget deficit, it would be irresponsible of us to move forward by adding to our nation's state of fiscal disrepair.

The amendments I offered to stop new programs and higher spending are not going to balance the budget on their own. However, if every Member of Congress took action in their committees to question whether we can afford new programs or afford spending more on existing programs, we could make a huge impact on the deficit and the size of the federal government.

Some of these new programs may sound good or may not cost a lot on their own, but Congress must consider how much we are already borrowing and spending before we grow government further. As we struggle to control the ballooning deficit, I will be taking a closer look at the bills going through my committees, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. The bottom line is that Congress has to wake up and ask whether the taxpayers can afford these new or expanded programs. And the answer is that we simply cannot.