Don’t let shutdown fight undo spending limits
Every day closer to Oct. 1 marks another step toward a potential government shutdown. Even though Republicans maintain control of both the House and Senate, there has been clamoring within certain conservative circles to use the lapse of the current continuing resolution to threaten a government shutdown unless the women’s health organization, Planned Parenthood, is defunded.
There are also rumors of palace intrigue that conservatives in the House will use the circumstances to start a mutiny against Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. A majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate oppose this approach. However, many are concerned about blowback from grassroots groups if they don’t fight “hard enough” against the evil Democrats.
While the odds of ridding the earth of Planned Parenthood and ending Boehner’s reign are very slim, it is very probable that Democrats and some Republicans, both fans of uncontrolled government spending, will use the inevitable legislative crisis to lift the sequester caps established by the Budget Control Act of 2011. The usual sacred cows are in play: Republicans want an increase in military spending, while the president and Democrats want to increase non-defense spending.
Repealing these spending caps on discretionary spending would undo one of the few examples of sustained government savings over the past 15 years. As our friends at the National Taxpayers Union explain: “federal spending was reduced by over $1.3 trillion compared to what the Administration had proposed just before the caps were enacted.”
This is why the R Street Institute joined a coalition letter of taxpayer and limited-government groups urging Congress to preserve the Budget Control Act spending levels. The letter highlights that our nation is facing an $18 trillion national debt and that “abandoning these modest spending limits by directly breaking the BCA caps or using budget gimmicks to get around them would be fiscally irresponsible and send a dangerous message to the American people.”
Among the different ideas and potential strategies swirling round Congress, it is encouraging to see the Republican Study Committee’s propose the aptly named solution to the government spending situation: the “Responsible Spending and Accountability Act.” While this proposal includes goodies conservatives are hoping for, like ending the Affordable Care Act and defunding Planned Parenthood, the RSC plan would keep the BCA caps.
While R Street hasn’t engaged on these other legislative matters, it is important that the House and Senate do not forget that limiting spending is the chief issue at the heart of the government spending fight.
Over the next week, Republicans and Democrats will continue a staring match. It’s essential they not forget the law they agreed to four years ago that set a modest but lasting example for limiting the gluttony of federal spending.
