Taxpayers deserve accountability

You have heard the saying, “a penny saved is a penny earned.” It is certainly true, and all the more so when the sum is $15 billion.

On June 7, the House or Representatives approved, and I supported, passage of H.R. 3, the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act. H.R. 3 “rescinded” $15 billion in federal spending that is no longer needed for its intended purposes, or that has been sitting unused within agencies for years.

The legislation also rescinds funding that agencies cannot spend, or have no plans to spend, to return it to the Federal Treasury.

While $15 billion is a lot, sadly it is only a dent in the massive federal budget. Regardless, Congress should still take every possible opportunity to rein in out-of-control spending.

Future rescissions are needed, and I hope the White House continues to use this important tool.

I agree with U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, who said earlier this year that, “no nation in history has maintained its military power that was not economically viable and did not keep its fiscal house in order.”

Defense Secretary Mattis has raised the alarm, outlining one of the great challenges we face in our time.

Last week, I signed on as an original cosponsor to the Recognizing National Debt as Threat to National Security Act, which would recognize that the current pace of spending is a threat to national security and commits to restoring regular to managing appropriations and balancing the budget.

I truly believe that our children and grandchildren will be faced with addressing the burden of our growing $21 trillion national debt unless we commit to meaningful action.

We must take our duty to the taxpayer seriously by aligning the government with the promise to be fiscally responsible by cutting wasteful spending. This is an enormous task, but every step to save is a step in the right direction for our country’s future.

H.R. 3 would rescind funding that is no longer needed for its intended purposes, or that has been sitting unused within agencies for years, including a Railroad Retirement Board program that ended in 2012 and the Department of Energy’s loan program for Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing, which has not made a loan since 2011.

If we cannot cut spending that is no longer needed or has remained unused, then where else would we do so?

Good governance, and indeed the fiscal future of our country, demand accountability for every taxpayer dollar.