[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 13, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FREEZING APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I have a statement that I would like to 
make, first on a letter and announcement that all the Republican 
members of the Senate Appropriations Committee have sent to the 
chairman of the committee today.
  Because Federal spending and debt are at crisis levels, Republican 
Senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee are asking our 
Democratic colleagues to join us in supporting the Sessions-McCaskill 
freeze on discretionary Federal spending. Every Republican--every one 
of us--and 17 Democratic Senators already have voted for the Sessions-
McCaskill amendment this session several times.
  The amendment would basically freeze Federal discretionary 
appropriations--both military and nonmilitary--which constitute about 
38 percent of the Federal budget. This action by the Senate members of 
the Appropriations Committee is especially important this year because 
the Democratic Congress has refused to produce a budget.
  Here we are, at a time when almost every American is deeply worried 
about the level of Federal debt and the level of Federal spending, and 
the first thing we would expect the Congress to do before it plans for 
next year is to produce a budget that would be able to restrain this 
spending--both the discretionary part of it, the kind we appropriate 
year after year--and begin to deal with the entitlements--the mandatory 
spending that is on automatic pilot. The Democratic Congress has not 
produced that budget for next year, and it indicates it will not. So 
it, therefore, is the first job of the members of the Appropriations 
Committee to decide how much we can spend.
  Year in and year out we decide where and how we spend the money. That 
is the constitutional responsibility of Congress under article I, and 
that is the job we do. Perhaps we haven't paid as much attention to the 
first responsibility as we should. Perhaps we have relied too much on 
the Budget Committee. Well, not this year. What we are saying is, if we 
are going to be members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and if 
our responsibility is to deal with Federal spending, then the first 
question we should decide is how much Federal spending.
  At a time when Federal spending and debt is at crisis levels, when 
the President's 10-year budget, up through the year 2018, would double 
the debt and triple the debt, it is our responsibility to get this 
under control.
  So our recommendation--and it is a serious recommendation, and one we 
hope and believe our colleagues who are Democrats on the Appropriations 
Committee will be able to accept because it is a bipartisan proposal 
that has already, as I mentioned, received between 16 and 18 Democratic 
votes on the floor of the Senate, and every single one of the 41 
Republican Senators--is that we essentially freeze spending in the 
discretionary accounts, both military and nonmilitary, between this 
year and next year.
  The Federal debt is a crisis that is imposing a burden on our 
children and our grandchildren that they will not be able to pay. It is 
our responsibility to deal with it and to begin to deal with it now. A 
Sessions-McCaskill freeze on Federal discretionary spending for next 
year is an important first step. The next step would then be getting 
entitlement spending under control, which we should move on as rapidly 
as possible.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
a copy of the letter from Republican members of the Senate 
Appropriations Committee which I referred to earlier in my remarks.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                      U.S. Senate,


                                  Committee on Appropriations,

                                    Washington, DC, July 13, 2010.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: As Republican members of the 
     Appropriations Committee, we are writing to express our views 
     regarding the Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations process.
       The Committee is operating in a particularly difficult 
     environment during this Congress. The enormity of the Federal 
     debt poses a direct threat to our national security and 
     demands restraint of Federal spending. Developing a consensus 
     approach to funding the operations of the Federal government 
     in such an environment is a significant challenge.
       Despite the clear need for a long term plan that would 
     bring our nation's debt under control, it is apparent that 
     Congress will be denied the opportunity to debate a Federal 
     budget this year. Our Committee will instead be compelled to 
     choose a discretionary top-line number outside the context of 
     a comprehensive budget resolution.
       Over the last two years discretionary spending has 
     increased by 17%, not including stimulus spending. With 
     stimulus spending included the increase soars to 84%. We note 
     that a bipartisan majority of the Senate has voted several 
     times in recent months on the Sessions-McCaskill proposal to 
     impose a discretionary top-line for Fiscal Year 2011 that 
     essentially freezes non-defense spending, and which would 
     result in significant reductions in spending from the 
     President's budget proposal. This is a clear indication of 
     the broad concern that exists about levels of Federal 
     spending.
       We are confident that, working together, our Committee can 
     produce bills that responsibly address fundamental government 
     needs in a fiscally responsible manner. We will not, however, 
     be able to support appropriations bills that do not conform 
     to this top-line number.
           Sincerely,
         Mitch McConnell, Thad Cochran, Judd Gregg, Lamar 
           Alexander, Susan Collins, Bob Bennett, Kit Bond, 
           Richard Shelby, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sam Brownback, 
           George V. Voinovich, Lisa Murkowski.

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