Feb. 14, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today urged Congress to make certain that the $131 billion of new, non-defense discretionary spending is only allocated to large, one-time projects that do not add to the baseline:
“Since Congress has decided to spend $131 billion in new, non-defense discretionary spending the next two years over Americans for Limited Government’s objections, it is clear that the limited government objective must be to not allow this spending to become permanent by being added to the baseline. To that end, Americans for Limited Government urges Congress to allocate the monies into one-time expenditures that otherwise might be too expensive to undertake.
“For example, allocating $7.5 billion for hardening the electrical grid against an EMP attack. In the era of a nuclear North Korea and a similarly threatening Iran, this is a critical need that could be met immediately using the already allocated dollars from the budget deal.
“While Americans for Limited Government would strongly prefer that these needs be met out of previously existing resources, Congress decided otherwise. To be clear, those funds should be rescinded, but if they’re not going to be, then it is Congress’ job to make certain that the spending is used to fill critical needs on a one-time basis rather than be wasted by hiring tens of thousands of new, permanent bureaucrats.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.
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