Blackburn Announces Spending Cut Strategy

Press Release

Blackburn Announces Spending Cut Strategy

On Tax Day, Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) announced a strategy to cut spending on non-defense and non-homeland security programs. The approach, which reflects Blackburn's earlier legislation calling for 1%, 2% or 5% across the board spending cuts, could force a vote on spending cuts by the full House.

Blackburn plans to offer 1%, 2% or 5% spending cut amendments to each appropriations bill excepting the Deparment of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Deparment of Veterans Affairs. The amendments will force her colleagues to vote up or down on cutting federal spending.

"This week Fed Chairman Bernanke warned Congress that we will shortly face a federal debt equal to one hundred percent of GDP. That level of debt isn't just unsustainable, it is patently irresponsible. We need more than a spending freeze, we need to cut spending across the board."

"This year I want to give my colleagues the opportunity to cut spending by as little as a penny or as much as a nickel from each dollar a federal agency spends. Surely we can find that savings. In so doing, we'll save the taxpayer billions and more importantly we will reset each agencies baseline for the coming year."

Blackburn will begin offering her spending cut amendments to the appropriations bills as they come to the House Floor this summer and fall.

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