TPA Responds to Announced Budget Deal, Signs Coalition Letter Urging Preservation of BCA 2011 Spending Caps

TPA President David Williams responds to the Murray-Ryan Budget accord announced on Tuesday evening:

“Washington has yet again failed the American taxpayer by choosing phony spending cuts over fiscal responsibility. The agreement reached tonight between Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) does nothing to address the long-term spending problems that this nation faces. Unfortunately what it does do is create more problems by setting the precedent to increase spending levels previously agreed to in the Budget Control Act of 2011. While millions of Americans look for ways to change their spending habits by tightening their belts, Washington remains clueless and increases spending.  It is inexcusable to think that just a few short years after agreeing to long-term spending restraint, deals are being made behind closed doors to break those very agreements. Sequestration wasn’t the ideal solution for anyone but it was the failure of Congress and the President to agree to specific spending cuts that led us to where we are now, and there is no reason to believe that we won’t see repeated attempts to do away with more required cuts down the road.”

This budget announcement by comes shortly after TPA signed onto a letter spearheaded by the Conservative Action Project urging lawmakers to oppose any budget deal that “raises spending levels or increases revenue”

Read the letter below:

December 10, 2013 – Washington, D.C.

Conservative Leaders to Congress: Oppose Any Budget Deal That Raises Spending Levels or Increases Revenue

As budget negotiations between the House and Senate continue, we write to urge Congress to oppose any legislation that increases spending above current law or raises new federal revenue.

According to reports, the House and Senate conference committee that was recently convened to negotiate the federal budget is considering a plan that would violate Congress’ promise on discretionary spending caps and increase federal revenue. Legislation that raises federal revenue and spending levels is unacceptable to conservatives and the majority of Americans and should be rejected by Congress.

Though conservatives support more spending restraint, the discretionary spending limits defined in the Budget Control Act represent a promise to the American people to marginally slow the growth of government. The budget conference committee represents an opportunity for Congress and President Obama to honor their bipartisan agreement; it is not a vehicle to break budget limits or increase revenue. Rather than searching for ways to abandon a bipartisan spending agreement, Congress should pass legislation that upholds the caps and then focus their energy on something productive, like stopping the train wreck that is Obamacare.

While many have expressed legitimate concerns about the nature of the spending limits, Congress has the ability to repurpose the BCA’s caps and limit other areas of discretionary spending as it deems prudent, such as protecting our national defense, without exceeding the $967 billion spending limit. Congress and the President have no excuse to violate their existing budget agreement. Conservatives cannot support any legislation that raises spending levels or increases revenue.

Sincerely,

The Honorable Edwin Meese III, Former Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan

The Honorable David McIntosh, Former Member of Congress, Indiana

Brent Bozell, Chairman, For America

Mike Needham, CEO, Heritage Action for America

Tim Phillips, President, Americans for Prosperity

Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring

Erick Erickson, Editor-in-Chief, RedState

Jenny Beth Martin, Co-Founder, Tea Party Patriots

Matt Kibbe, President, FreedomWorks

Al Cardenas, Chairman, American Conservative Union

Amy Kremer, Chairman, Tea Party Express

David Bossie, President, Citizens United

Penny Nance, President, Concerned Women for America

Duane Parde, President, National Taxpayers Union

David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Bill Walton, Chairman, Rappahannock Ventures LLC

The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, President, Constitutional Congress, Inc.

Nathan Mehrens, President, Americans for Limited Government

Jim Ryun, Chairman, The Madison Project

The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., Former Domestic Advisor, President Ronald Reagan

The Honorable Alfred S. Regnery, Former Publisher, American Spectator

Jonathan Bydlak, President, Coalition to Reduce Spending

Daniel Garza, Executive Director, Libre Initiative

Evan Feinberg, President, Generation Opportunity