Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, it is a bit disconcerting to hear a lot of my friends on the other side of the aisle say that any funds left over in the executive branch account should not be returned to the U.S. Treasury, which would reduce Federal borrowing; but instead, Congress should find some way to spend that money.
This really, I think, is an indication of the serious problem of overspending that we have here in Washington, a problem that I think so many of our constituents sent us here to address.
Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government is running an annual deficit. I think people know that. These repeated annual deficits have combined to create a staggering national debt, which currently stands at more than $21 trillion. These deficits are not free, but costly, because of the interest our country has to pay on these borrowed dollars.
Today, with this legislation, we mark a return to a legislative tool that both Republicans and Democrats alike have utilized to clean up accounts that went underutilized. The rescission tool that is being used in this legislation was commonly used in the 1970s, when it was established, all the way through the 1980s and 1990s, as a way to return unused, unobligated tax dollars to the U.S. Treasury.
To recap, the rescission bill we have before us today returns unspent dollars to the Treasury. Every dollar returned is a dollar that we don't have to borrow. Every dollar that does not need to be borrowed does not incur interest payments.
While I understand there is no perfect bill, this bill is an important step in restoring a measure of fiscal restraint. I am proud to stand with the President to clean up some old accounts and prevent waste as well as abuse.
Let me add that some of these accounts are worthwhile, but this is not a debate about individual accounts. This is about doing the necessary steps to clean up the executive branch's balance sheets.
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Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions about whether this line item or that line item might be something to rescind or not. To them, I would point out that we are in the middle of an appropriations process. We can work on these issues and we can address them. It doesn't mean that they are left off the table.
So I stand ready to continue to work with my colleagues as we face the challenges facing this Nation as we continue working on the Appropriations Committee, and I welcome the input of my colleagues as we continue on for FY 2019.
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