Joel Hefley: “Mr. Chairman, I am asking we make a 1 percent reduction in our spending for the Treasury and Postal Services…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am asking we make a 1 percent reduction in our spending for the Treasury and Postal Services appropriations. With a discretionary budget of roughly $18.5 million, a 1 percent reduction with amount to $185 million, which is a lot of money to most of us but not a lot compared to the overall budget. When dealing with these billions and billions of dollars of spending, this is a figure that the agencies can easily work around. I am not criticizing, Mr. Chairman, the work of the committee. I know the dynamics of getting a bill through the committee and getting it to the floor, and I think they have done a good job on this bill. But the last estimate for this year's budget deficit would amount to roughly $150 billion dollars. In order to balance this budget, Mr. Chairman, I am asking that every agency make a minor decrease in its rate of spending. I am not asking for any agency to take a big cut. I am requesting that they reduce their spending. If every agency complies with this request, we can actually come close to offering a balanced budget this year.”