TCS Praises RSC’s Operation Offset

Sep 21, 2005 | 4 min read | Print Article

Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement by Steve Ellis, Vice President of Programs at Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the Republican Study Committee’s ‘Operation Offset’ proposal:

We commend the Republican Study Committee for inserting a little sanity into these insane budgetary times. What the committee has offered is a menu of fair and compelling spending cuts that can help the nation pay for the costs of Katrina and the deficit mountain plaguing our nation. The $543 billion Operation Offset proposal is a first step toward getting the nation’s budget off of life support.

TCS’s Plan for Offsetting the Costs of Katrina Rebuilding

The “whatever it costs” blank check approach to rebuilding the Gulf will lead the nation to budgetary ruin. Congress must proceed with a smart, aggressive plan for reconstruction and a clear plan of how to pay for it. With Hurricane Rita threatening the Gulf Coast, it is time to end the congressional spending storm.

Some have argued that there are no offsets available. Considering that there are several proposals out there, these comments are the embodiment of fiscal irresponsibility. None of these plans are perfect, but they are a good start. Operation Offset, for example, steers away from cutting Cold War weapon systems at the Department of Defense. Military spending is almost half of all discretionary spending, so it is not the time to take any of the nation’s budgetary choices off the table. Literally, we need to count all the federal dollars hiding in every agency couch cushion or we will never come up with the money to offset the Katrina costs.

To facilitate this effort, Taxpayers for Common Sense has compiled a list of spending and revenue offsets that Congress and the President should consider to help fill this enormous budgetary crater. This list, which is compiled from earlier analyses by TCS and other NGOs, the Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office, and the President’s budget requests, provides a menu of reasonable, achievable offsets that would help the federal government pay for the reconstruction efforts.

Lawmakers have two choices. They can either come up with a fiscally responsible plan to pay for helping those afflicted in the Gulf, or they can force our children and grandchildren to pay this off for decades to come through deficit spending and interest payments. Using Operation Offset as a launching pad, the Congress should formalize its plan to offset its spending in the next emergency supplemental appropriations bill. We applaud the Republican Study Committee for their efforts and urge them to lead a new parade of fiscal responsible lawmakers through the halls of Congress. We know this won’t be easy. In fact, there are numerous proposal cuts within this plan that may not even get majority support in the Republican Study Committee.

The Budget Impasse Hurts Taxpayers

It is clear that we must offset the disaster spending. Offsets are available. The President should veto any emergency supplemental appropriations bill that is not completely offset over the next five years.

Budget Gimmicks and the U.S. Debt Problem