Letter to President George W. Bush, Re: 'In Wake of Katrina, Cut Non-Essential Spending'
Letter
Letter to President George W. Bush, Re: 'In Wake of Katrina, Cut Non-Essential Spending'
BLACKBURN TO BUSH: 'IN WAKE OF KATRINA, CUT NON-ESSENTIAL SPENDING'
Representative Marsha Blackburn (TN-7th District) sent President Bush a letter yesterday asking the administration to reevaluate non-essential spending in light of the financial burden imposed by hurricane Katrina. Twenty members in the House of Representatives signed onto Blackburn's letter.
"Americans know that during hard times you have to tighten the belt," Blackburn said. "I want the White House to put focus on reigning in non-essential spending. If we're going to face hundreds of billions in rebuilding costs along the gulf coast, then we've got to see some reductions elsewhere. There are plenty of places to reduce, but we need a commitment from the White House to make this a priority."
Text of Blackburn Letter:
September 15, 2005
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Bush:
When Japan initiated World War II by attacking Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt saw how the nation's spending priorities needed to change in light of the emergency situation; so, he cut non-defense spending by over 20% from 1942 to 1944. When the Korean War started in 1950, President Truman faced a similar situation, and he followed Roosevelt's prescription for federal spending priorities and cut nonmilitary spending by 28% in one year.
The average taxpayer wants the federal government to focus its spending on essential services and not on ineffective, duplicative, obsolete programs. Congress and the President have a historic opportunity to show the American people that we are not afraid to make hard choices on cutting current federal spending when a national disaster requires investment of tens, possibly hundreds, of billions of dollars.
Due to current fiscal considerations, Congress is faced with having to increase the federal deficit through debt financing in order to provide recovery assistance to the residents and businesses of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. We find this fiscal situation troublesome and urge your administration to follow the examples of previous administrations facing fiscal difficulties in time of emergencies and exercise spending restraint through offsetting, spending reductions in non-defense, non-homeland security budget items.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to working with you during the coming months.
Sincerely,
Marsha Blackburn
Member of Congress
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