On the recordJuly 6, 2016
I know especially our ranking member has been looking so forward to having this amendment come to the floor tonight because we have such great, robust discussions every year when I bring this amendment forward. It is calling for a 1 percent across- the-board reduction in the spending that is allowed through this appropriations bill. The reason I continue each year to move forward with presenting these is because across-the-board spending reductions work. It is a way that you hold the entire agency accountable for making those reductions. It is a way that you say: No, you are not going to be able to reposition money that maybe was for one thing and you really want to spend it on another. This is money that goes back. You are not going to spend it because the taxpayers continue to tell us they are overtaxed, that government has overspent. And we are piling on the debt every single year. Quite frankly, the American people are tired of it. I can tell you that, as our millennials come of age and look at government spending, they are, indeed, tired of it. They feel like it is time for this House to get back into good fiscal shape, to get to fiscal health. Now, I commend the committee for the work they have done. It is $21.7 billion base that is in this bill. It is $2.7 billion below the President's request. It is $1.5 billion below the enacted 2016 level. This is work that is to be commended, but I really believe there is more that needs to be done.…
