Sensible Steps Toward A Balanced Budget Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. PETERS. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4825, and I am proud to have worked closely with Representative Kirkpatrick on this important issue. We share the belief that government needs to do more with less.
The Sensible Steps Toward a Balanced Budget Act simply requires that all unused funds from each congressional office account, known as the Members Representational Allowance, or MRA, be given back to taxpayers to help reduce the Federal deficit. As our Nation faces a significant budget deficit and a growing national debt, we must look for commonsense solutions to cut spending. As Members of Congress, we must--and can--lead by example.
As a State senator in Michigan, I ran my office so efficiently during my 8 years that I was able to return the equivalent of a full year's operating budget back to Michigan taxpayers. When I came to Congress at the beginning of 2009, I made it a priority to run my office here efficiently, as well, and came in under budget in order to return the difference to taxpayers. Last year, my office came in $135,000 under budget, and I'm continuing my efforts to save taxpayer dollars at every opportunity.
I was surprised to learn, however, that the money I saved each year would not necessarily be returned to the Treasury to help offset the deficit. This legislation would fix that, so that funding from more frugal Members of Congress can be saved and put back into the Treasury to reduce the deficit.
I believe that fiscal restraint should not be a partisan issue and that we must work together to find every opportunity to slash spending and forge a path toward a balanced budget and a shrinking national debt. This legislation is an important step towards our goal of a balanced budget.
I would, again, like to thank my colleague Representative Kirkpatrick for her hard work and leadership on this issue, and thank you, Chairman Brady, for the opportunity to speak about the Sensible Steps Toward a Balanced Budget Act.
I urge its passage.
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