[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 125 (Thursday, September 16, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  FINDINGS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET RELATING TO 
             EFFICIENCY AND REFORM PURSUANT TO H. RES. 1493

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN M. SPRATT, JR.

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 16, 2010

  Mr. SPRATT. Madam Speaker, Pursuant to the Budget Enforcement 
Resolution that the House passed on July 1, I hereby submit for 
printing in the Congressional Record an outline of changes within the 
Budget Committee's jurisdiction to help achieve deficit reduction by 
reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, by promoting 
efficiency and reform of government, and by controlling spending.
  While the Budget Committee does not have jurisdiction over specific 
government programs, it does maintain a broad oversight role over the 
federal budget as well as budget process.
  This year Congress enacted statutory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) 
legislation, a measure under the Budget Committee's jurisdiction. The 
legislation was the culmination of years of work on the part of 
Congressional Democrats to restore statutory PAYGO after the previous 
statute expired in 2002. That version of PAYGO reined in new 
entitlement spending and required new tax cuts to be offset in the 
1990s, with the result that the federal budget returned to surplus. The 
new law likewise will help set budgetary priorities and restore fiscal 
responsibility. Since its enactment in February, Congress has passed 
and the President has signed legislation into law with PAYGO provisions 
reducing the federal deficit by a total of $58.4 billion over the next 
five years and a total of $43.1 billion over the next ten years, 
according to the most recent OMB scorecard.
  The passage of statutory PAYGO built on the internal House PAYGO 
rule, adopted during the opening week of the Democratic majority in 
110th Congress--along with a rule that fast-track budget reconciliation 
procedures cannot be used for legislation that increases the deficit. 
The Budget Committee works continuously with other House committees to 
ensure that legislation coming to the House floor for a vote meets the 
requirements of these deficit-reducing rules.
  One of the critical roles that the Budget Committee plays each year 
is to set the overall level of discretionary spending for the annual 
spending bills produced by the Appropriations Committee. This year, the 
appropriations cap is $7 billion below the comparable level proposed by 
the President, and follows a similar reduction of $7 billion below the 
President's request last year. Approving these more disciplined 
spending levels encourages Congress to find efficiencies and reduce 
wasteful spending while providing enough room to fund critical services 
and investments at a time when the economy is still recovering from the 
worst recession in decades.
  In addition, on May 28 of this year, I introduced H.R. 5454--the 
Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010--that will enhance fiscal 
discipline by allowing the President to sign spending bills into law 
while culling out unneeded or wasteful items and proposing that 
Congress rescind them. ``Expedited rescission'' under this bill 
requires Congress to consider the President's recommendations as one 
package, without amendment and on a fast-track basis, guaranteeing an 
up-or-down vote within a specified time frame. While expedited 
rescission will not eliminate the federal deficit, it will be one more 
tool to control spending. Forty Democrats have joined me in 
cosponsoring this bill, including five Budget Committee members.
  Finally, in light of the Budget Committee's broad oversight role on 
the federal budget, four Committee members have been appointed to the 
President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. 
With representation on both sides of the aisle from the House, the 
Senate, and the private sector, the Commission is charged with building 
consensus on ways to wipe out the deficit and improve the long-term 
fiscal sustainability of major entitlement programs. The House 
Democratic leadership has pledged to vote this year on any legislative 
recommendations reported by the Commission and approved by the Senate, 
and agrees that deficit reduction as a result of the recommendations 
cannot be used to offset costs of future legislation. The deficit-
reduction proposals of the bipartisan commission will be issued in 
December.
  The Budget Committee will continue to examine ways to reduce the 
deficit and increase efficiency in government spending. I look forward 
to working further with all Members of Congress to address the long-
term budget challenges facing the nation.

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