On the recordSeptember 13, 2017
This type of amendment bluntly imposes cuts to government function without regard to merit or consequence. Indiscriminate cuts to the administration accounts in this bill would lead to weakened cybersecurity and increased threat of cyberattacks to the Department of the Treasury systems, poor administration of grants to small businesses, longer wait times for citizens seeking assistance from Federal agencies, longer processing times for issuing Federal payments, reducing the ability of the IRS to detect and deter tax cheats, costly short-term spending decisions, and widespread delays in civil and bankruptcy cases, just as a few examples. The underlying bill is already dangerously underfunded, having been cut by 6 percent below current levels. Furthermore, the administrative accounts were a large source of this reduction to total funding, and this amendment blindly strips nearly $600 million more out of these offices. This amendment would not encourage the agencies to do more with less. Simply put, it would force the agencies and our constituents to do less with less. Mr. Chair, I strongly urge Members to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
