Peters Leads Bipartisan Fight for Action on Spending Cuts

Press Release

With another federal budget deadline rapidly approaching, Representative Gary Peters is leading a bipartisan effort to force Congress to take action on proposed spending cuts. On Thursday, Rep. Peters teamed up with Republican Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) to introduce a bipartisan bill that would require Congress to hold an up-or-down vote on a list of at least $20 billion in budget cuts proposed by the Administration.

Every year, the President's budget request includes a section entitled "Terminations, Reductions and Savings" highlighting areas of the federal budget that could be scaled-back or cut altogether to save money. This list typically totals around $20 billion.

While Congress includes some of these cuts in its budget legislation each year, many of them are ignored -- without even a simple up-or-down by the House or Senate. Rep. Peters' bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1155) would allow the White House to send Congress a list of proposed cuts or savings which Congress must then vote to accept or reject in its entirety.

"There's a lot of talk in Washington about cutting the deficit and it's time for action. If the Administration identifies federal programs that can be cut, then Congress shouldn't be allowed to keep ignoring them," said Rep. Gary Peters. "Even if the bill doesn't pass, forcing Congress to take an up-or-down vote will lead to debate on wasteful programs and spending that Congress has ignored for years."

The potential for savings is very real. The most recent list of cuts included $228 million in savings by reducing subsidy payments to wealthy farmers, $138 million in savings by eliminating payments to states for mine-reclamation projects that have already concluded, and $75 million in annual cuts to election reform grants -- a program that already has approximately $1 billion in unspent money in reserve.

Budget watchdog groups were quick to praise Rep. Peters' bipartisan plan.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said: "The "Terminations, Reductions and Savings' recommended by OMB represent the lowest of the low-hanging fruit in tackling the national debt, yet all too often Congress ignores them. While this bill alone won't solve our fiscal problems, it will help Washington get serious about deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility."

Peters' plan is already gaining momentum in the House. In addition to securing bipartisan support from Rep. Gardner (R-CO), Peters' bill has been cosponsored by Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT), John Carney (D-DE), and Jarid Polis (D-CO).

This is the second bipartisan spending cut effort that Peters has spearheaded in recent weeks. On March 3rd, Peters again joined Rep. Gardner to introduce legislation requiring Congressional committees to hold hearings on wasteful or duplicative government programs.

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