Fiscal Responsibility
Over the years, Democrats have shown our commitment to restoring fiscal responsibility by taking actions that have reduced our national deficit while investing in the American people’s priorities. During the 117th Congress, House Democrats delivered the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which will reduce the deficit by over $300 billion while lowering health care and energy costs and taking action on climate change. In sharp contrast, Republicans jammed their 2017 Trump Tax Scam through Congress without a single hearing, gifting trillions of dollars in unpaid-for tax handouts to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations while leaving our nation with ballooning deficits. They have repeatedly held our economy hostage to benefit their irresponsible ideological agenda, whether creating artificial “fiscal cliffs,” shutting down the government, or bringing our nation to the brink of defaulting on its obligations. With other landmark legislation delivered during the 117th Congress, including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act, Democrats have worked to invest in economic recovery, job creation, all while cutting the deficit in half last year. Democrats are committed to continuing our work to restore sound, long-term fiscal management so future generations can afford to invest in opportunities, secure the American Dream, and ensure workers have the tools to Make It In America.
According to a Bloomberg poll released today, 8 in 10 Americans want Republicans and Democrats to reach a compromise on spending cuts. Democrats agree that we need to cut and compromise on spending so that we can reduce the deficit while protecting investments that grow the economy and create jobs. That’s why Democrats have moved halfway to Republicans’ $100 billion demand. But Republicans have ignored the message Americans are sending, and have not moved an inch from their one and only proposal.
Democrats are committed to restoring fiscal discipline and cutting spending, and the bill introduced today will provide another tool for us to do that. Under expedited rescission, Congress and the President can work together to cut wasteful, duplicative spending. I hope my Republican colleagues back up their calls for reduced spending with action and join us in moving this bill forward.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday Democrats have come “more than halfway" in negotiations to cut billions of dollars in federal spending this fiscal year — and Republicans have not budged “a single inch.”
While Democrats have put forward a compromise measure cutting $51 billion of the $100 billion in cuts proposed by Republicans, House Republicans seem to have taken “March Madness” to heart and have so far refused to offer anything other than their irresponsible “So Be It” Spending Bill. Rather than move toward a compromise with Democrats, Republicans have not moved an inch from their arbitrary spending proposal that cuts investments in our future, harming economic growth and costing at least 200,000 jobs according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and up to 700,000 jobs according to Moody Analytics’ Mark Zandi.
Today’s news on job creation is encouraging: our country added 192,000 jobs last month. Our unemployment rate is now 8.9%—and in recent months, the unemployment rate has declined at the fastest pace in almost 28 years. While these numbers are signs of an economy regaining its health, they also remind us that millions of Americans are still out of work and that more needs to be done.
Tomorrow, the Department of Labor will release its report on February’s employment numbers. And while we don’t yet know the results, one thing is certain: if the news is good, Republicans will try to take credit for it. It’s just as certain that they will have no basis in fact for doing so. As this Congress approaches the two-month mark, Republicans have yet to offer a single piece of job-creating legislation.
With a federal budget battle showdown underway, science looks like collateral damage, say former federal officials, with proposed cuts to research that they consider severe. At stake, they warn, is the nation's long-term economic growth.
Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that House GOP’s 2011 spending plan would likely cost “a couple hundred thousand jobs,” a number he called “not trivial.”
We’re going to be doing a lot of deficit cutting over the next several years. The country’s future greatness will be shaped by whether we cut wisely or stupidly. So we should probably come up with a few sensible principles to guide us as we cut.
Democrats agree with Republicans that we must cut spending and are committed to working with them to reach a compromise so that we can reduce spending while protecting investments that create jobs and grow the economy. Republicans have asked for $100 billion in cuts and Democrats have nearly met them halfway: $45 billion has been cut so far, with $41 billion in the Continuing Resolution passed in December and $4 billion in the short-term Continuing Resolution signed into law yesterday. It’s now up to Republicans to stop punting on a compromise and work together.