TPA to Congress: Return to Regular Order, Keep the Caps, and Pass a Responsible Budget

This week, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) applauded the House and Senate for passing a short-term spending bill that funds the government at levels that will remain within the budget caps that were part of the 2011 Budget Control Act.   The BCA caps are spending levels that Congress and the White House agreed upon and put into law, there is no reason to spend above those levels.  TPA is calling on Congress to use the next few months to pass a spending bill that retains the budget caps, cuts spending, and ends the governing by crisis that has become too familiar in Washington.  Congress ultimately needs to decide if they will get their act together and pass a full year CR or an Omnibus spending bill.  Passing a year long CR will make it difficult (but not impossible) to add earmarks.  An Omnibus spending bill is more problematic.  Anytime a multi-thousand page bill is passed, there is always the temptation to add earmarks or provide funding for wasteful and unnecessary projects or resurrect dead programs like the Export-Import Bank. Of course, waiting to pass an Omnibus spending bill or multiple CR’s two moths after the beginning of the fiscal year is still a symptom of a larger problem of legislating by crisis versus not long term planning.  Congress needs to return to passing individual appropriations bills so groups like TPA can evaluate each one based on its merits.  Passing individual spending bills in a non-chaotic way also provides opportunities for members of Congress to offer amendments to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending.  Getting back to “regular order” allows for more time to look at long term issues like comprehensive tax reform.