Rep. Calvert Supports Final Passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005

Monday, December 19, 2005

Rep. Calvert Supports Final Passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Early this morning, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) voted in favor of the final Conference Report to S. 1932/H.R. 4241, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The House agreed to the Conference Report by a vote of 212-206 and the Senate is expected to approve it later this week. The legislation provides $39.732 billion of savings over 5 years in the federal government's mandatory spending programs. ("Mandatory spending" refers to programs that are not subject to the annual appropriations process.)

"Passage of the Deficit Reduction Act is an important first step in addressing the exploding growth in our mandatory spending programs and reducing our deficit," said Rep. Calvert. "Entitlement programs are projected to double in ten years and if we fail to properly curb this growth, today's youth will face an even greater problem down the road. By slowing the rate of growth today, we reduce the chance of being faced with deep program cuts or large tax increases in the future."

The Deficit Reduction Act savings - pursuant to the budget resolution for fiscal year 2006 (H.Con.Res. 95), and adjusted following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - have three principal goals:

* To provide a down-payment toward hurricane recovery and reconstruction costs. Congress already has provided nearly $65 billion in recovery funding, and more funding is expected in the near future.

* To begin a longer-term effort at slowing the growth of entitlement spending, which now consumes about 54 percent of the total budget, and will rise to 62 percent in 10 years if no action is taken.

* To stimulate reform of entitlement programs, many of which are outdated, inefficient, and excessively costly.

http://calvert.house.gov/pressreleases.asp?ARTICLE4024=10603&PG4024=1