Blackburn "Speaking Out" On Spending Cuts

Press Release

Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) posted her own ideas on spending cuts to the grassroots driven America Speaking Out website this week. America Speaking Out is an unprecedented initiative from House Republicans to engage the American people and give them a voice in crafting a new governing agenda for Congress. Blackburn's post is her latest effort to break Washington of its addction to taxpayer dollars.

Blackburn has filed 1%, 2%, and 5% spending cut proposals in every Congress in which she's served. The most recent bills call for accross the board cuts to be applied to FY 2011 as well as retroactively to current year spending. The bills do not apply to the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, or Veterans Affairs.

In a video posted on the site, Congressman Blackburn pledges to file a dischage petition on the bill that has the most votes when Congress returns from the August recess.

"Surely Washington can save as little as a penny or as much as a nickle on every dollar we spend," Blackburn said. "Tennesseans are stunned that as they tighten their belts month after month, Washinton has yet to have a serious discussion about spending less. We haven't even set pen to paper on a real budget."

"I am putting these spending cut bills on America Speaking Out because it is a great tool for soliciting feedback from the American people. We're all familiar with social networking. I see ASO as freedom networking. I hope that I will be able to return to Washington in September and point to the reaction these ideas will recieve and tell my colleagues, 'people want us to be serious, they want us to be responsible, they want us to cut.'"

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