[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     ACROSS-THE-BOARD SPENDING CUTS

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, the other day the President spoke out in 
support of across-the-board spending cuts as an option for reducing 
Federal spending. I want to applaud the President for joining us on 
this issue. On October 20, I wrote a letter of thanks to the President, 
thanking him for supporting across-the-board spending reductions.
  In September, along with two of my colleagues, I introduced H.R. 
3903, H.R. 3904, and H.R. 3906, 1, 2, and 5 percent across-the-board 
reduction bills for nondefense, non-Homeland Security discretionary 
spending. We have 18 members signed as co-sponsors, and I hope to 
continue building support for the reductions. Every Member in this body 
should be able to support at least a 1 percent reduction.
  This House leadership has actively pushed to rein in spending, and I 
hope my colleagues will join me in supporting these bills.

                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, October 20, 2005.
     Hon. George W. Bush,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear President Bush: Thank you for promising to work with 
     Congress to offset costs for Gulf Coast reconstruction with 
     spending cuts. I know that you and I are committed to act in 
     a fiscally responsible way in paying for the reconstruction 
     efforts.
       In your speech on October 4th from the Rose Garden, you 
     stated that you want Congress to pay for as much of the 
     hurricane relief as possible by cutting spending and that you 
     will work with Congress to identify offsets to free up money 
     for the reconstruction efforts. You also called on Congress 
     to make real cuts in non-security spending.
       Mr. President, I have introduced three bills that are 
     significant first steps towards meeting your goals. The bills 
     would enact across-the-board 1%, 2%, and 5% reductions in 
     non-defense and non-homeland security discretionary spending. 
     I believe that by working together on these proposals we can 
     show the American people that you and I are dedicated to 
     exercising spending restraint to prevent more federal debt 
     passing on to future generations.
       Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look 
     forward to working with you during the coming months.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Marsha Blackburn,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________