Taxpayer Watchdog Slams Backroom Budget Tactics

This morning, Taxpayers Protection Alliance released the following statement on Speaker Pelosi’s backroom budget tactics. 

For Immediate Release         Contact: Courtney Mattison (202-525-7492)

August 24, 2021   

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) vehemently opposes efforts by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and congressional leadership to pass the $3.5 trillion budget deal using “deem and pass” tactics during a rule vote. This will deprive the American people of a substantive and transparent debate on the massive bill and is a clear attempt to avoid accountability for the disastrous fiscal ramifications of the legislation.

In response, TPA President David Williams made the following statement:

“With the nation facing record deficits, public debt, and soaring inflation, the American people deserve to know which of their representatives will vote to pass a $3.5 trillion budget that will further devalue their paychecks and exacerbate the economic issues facing the country today. Instead, Speaker Pelosi wants to pass this budget quietly, without any public debate.

“Congressional leadership wants to utilize a rarely used tactic called ‘deem and pass’ where the rule governing debate on the bill will act as final passage of the bill itself. This means there will be no debate and there will be no recorded vote on the legislation. It is no surprise that Democratic leaders want to avoid accountability for this reckless budget that prioritizes partisan agenda items over real solutions. Any affirmative vote on a rule brought up under such circumstances should be treated as no different than a full-throated endorsement of the budget itself.

“TPA urges members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to reject this underhanded power play. Regardless of one’s stance on the budget, this legislation is too far-reaching to pass the House without a standalone recorded vote. Elected officials cannot claim to represent the American people by governing in such a manner. We all deserve better.”

#

Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.