Issue Position: Federal Budget

Issue Position

Budget Process
Federal law requires Congress to produce a budget each fiscal year to set spending limits. Under normal process 1) the President submits a budget proposal to Congress, 2) both chambers produce their own budget resolution, and 3) Congress passes appropriations bills that set the spending levels. Unfortunately, implementing the budget process is always much more complicated. I would encourage you to review this report by the Congressional Research Service for a more detailed analysis.

Because it is such a complex process, the federal government does not always accomplish all the steps of the budget process. During the last Congress, neither a budget resolution nor all the necessary appropriations bills were passed in either Democratically-held house of Congress. As a result, Congress has often operated on "continuing resolutions" -- temporary extensions of funding at the current levels, to keep federal programs going.

Current Crisis
At the beginning of this session of the 112th Congress, the United States national debt was approximately $15.5 trillion dollars, while the annual deficit was $1.3 trillion for fiscal year 2012 (FY2012).

The President introduced his budget plan for FY2013 on February 13, and it would increase taxes by $1.9 trillion while adding an additional $11 trillion to the debt. The House later considered the President's proposed budget but it was defeated by a vote of 414-0.

On March 20, the House Budget Committee introduced the Path to Prosperity proposal for FY2013, a blueprint for reducing the national debt and implementing pro-growth tax reform. At this time, the Senate has not considered or passed a budget plan of its own.

I am convinced that there is a spending problem in Washington and it is long past time the federal government stepped up with solutions to our fiscal crisis. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to rein in this excess and get our nation's fiscal house in order. On March 29, I voted in favor of the House budget, which cuts nearly $5 trillion in government spending over the next decade in comparison to the President's budget. It is time that government operates again like a responsible Michigan family.

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