April 3, 2013

The Honorable Pat Roberts109 Hart Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510The Honorable Jeff Duncan116 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Roberts and Congressman Duncan,

We write to encourage your colleagues to cosponsor and otherwise support your bill to create the Committee to Reduce Government Waste. This bill signals a serious step toward reforming federal spending and provides prudent lawmakers with an important tool to decrease the size of government.

The Committee to Reduce Government Waste is not a new idea—in fact, the committee existed first in the 77th Congress after it was proposed by Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. (D-Va.). Named after its creator, the “Byrd Committee” was tasked solely with cutting unnecessary and redundant federal programs and was able to enact real reform—the Committee netted over $38 billion in savings (in adjusted dollars) in its first few years of existence.

Created in 1941, the Committee was integral in dialing back some of the exponential New Deal growth in government. After years of explosive government growth thanks to “stimulus” programs, bank bailouts and healthcare takeovers, American taxpayers could benefit greatly from a similar effort aimed at decreasing the burden of government.

Your bill would create a Standing Committee that would focus solely on eliminating the redundancies and inefficiencies that add to the cost of government. While several committees exist today that encourage and promote new spending, this Committee would have the unique responsibility of decreasing outlays and finding savings. Tasked with this singular goal, the Committee could pave the way for significant spending reform.

The bickering over the past few months over a two percent cut in federal spending shows that fiscal restraint is hard to come by. Institutional changes, such as implementing a committee focused only on cutting spending, is the only way to ensure lasting reform for taxpayers.

Thus, we urge support of your bill to create the Committee to Reduce Government Waste, and look forward to working with you in the 113th Congress to promote fiscal responsibility.

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax ReformDr. Adrian Moore, Vice President, Reason Foundation
Amy Kremer, Chairman, Tea Party ExpressAndrew Moylan, Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
Chris Chocola, President, Club for GrowthDuane Parde, President, National Taxpayers Union
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Vice President of Policy, Competitive Enterprise InstituteBrian Burch, President, CatholicVote.org
Mattie Duppler, Executive Director, Cost of Government CenterPhil Kerpen, President, American Commitment
Andrew F. Quinlan, President, Center for Freedom and ProsperityChip Faulkner, Associate Director, Citizens for Limited Taxation (MA)
James Valvo, Director of Policy, Americans for ProsperityChuck Muth, President, Citizen Outreach
Colin A. Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingPhyllis Schlafly, Founder and President, Eagle Forum
Stan Veuger, Research Fellow in Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise InstituteDavid Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Dee Stewart, President, Americans for a Balanced BudgetForest Thigpen, President, Mississippi Center for Public Policy
George Landrith, President, Frontiers of FreedomGregory T. Angelo, Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans
John Palatiello, President, Business Coalition for Fair CompetitionJudson Phillips, Founder, Tea Party Nation
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship CouncilKathryn A. Serkes, CEO & Chairman, Doctor Patient Medical Association and Patient Power Alliance
Kevin P. Kane, President, Pelican Institute for Public PolicyStephen Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense
John Hood, President, John Locke FoundationAl Cardenas, President, American Conservative Union
Mario H. Lopez, President, Hispanic Leadership FundJim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Myron Ebell, President, Freedom ActionJonathan Bydlak, President, Coalition to Reduce Spending
Rich Danker, Economics Director, American Principles ProjectRichard Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
Rick Watson, Chairman, Center-Right Coalition of FloridaSam Slom, President, Smart Business Hawaii (SBH)
Seton Motley, President, Less GovernmentSusan A. Carleson, Chairman & CEO, American Civil Rights Union
Brian Baker, President, Ending SpendingLisa Miller, Chairman, Tea Party WDC
Jeff Mazzella, President, Center for Individual FreedomTina M. Pisenti, Executive Vice President & COO, Cascade Policy Institute

Cc: All Members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives

Affiliations listed for identification purposes