On the recordFebruary 2, 2011
I rise today in support of the Levin amendment, which I believe is a far superior alternate to the Stabenow amendment as it currently stands. The amendment offered today by Senator Stabenow proposes to rescind $44 billion from unobligated balances of appropriated funds that are designated for specific purposes in various appropriations bills previously enacted by Congress. The Senator offers these rescissions in order to offset the loss of revenues resulting from an amendment. This amendment is a perfect representation of what I expect to be a flood of similar amendments and stand-alone bills that seek to eviscerate the nondefense functions of the Federal Government. With the exception of the proposal from the junior Senator from Kentucky, which had the courage to list each and every cut he proposed, I expect many other bills and amendments will be blanket rescissions that leave it to the executive branch to decide how the taxpayers' moneys will be spent. These bills and amendments turn the constitutional separation of powers on its head and provide a terribly dangerous precedent. In the specific case of the Stabenow amendment, it simply provides for generic rescission of funds, with the authority and decisionmaking on the programs to be impacted delegated entirely to the executive branch.
