Last month, Rep. Van Hollen and his fellow supercommittee members failed in their task to deliver more than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. The supercommittee's inability both to stand up to special interests and to move beyond partisan and ideological sticking points doomed the members to fail.
Obviously, if Congress is going to fix the budget and agree on a way to bring down America’s excessive deficits and debt, then it is going to need to do both.
Congress doesn’t have to wait for across-the-board cuts to take effect next year, they should take advantage of the good work that has been done: the Simpson-Bowles deficit committee last year; the Domenici-Rivlin proposal; work of the bipartisan Gang of Six in the Senate, and we’ve put together a list of more than $1.5 trillion worth of government spending that could be cut. Spending cuts, entitlement reforms, tax expenditure elimination: It’s all in there.
Congress should start by cutting wasteful and obsolete government programs where there is already broad, bipartisan agreement. From tax subsidies to oil and gas companies to crop insurance to unnecessary defense contracts, there is plenty for Congress to choose from.
Ryan Alexander, Washington, D.C.
The letter writer is president of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Letter to the Editor: Congress should cut obsolete programs (Gazette Maryland Community News)
Discussion
Sign Up for Updates
