From: Dan Holler
Sent: 5/8/2018 5:37 PM
To: faithfulinthe8th@gmail.com
Subject: Want to know the strategy for a rescissions fight?
faithfulinthe8th@gmail.com,
"Over the past decade, it's become increasingly apparent that Washington has no appetite for fiscal restraint."
That is what my former Heritage Action colleague, and current deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, wrote in the Wall Street Journal. And that is why, this morning, President Trump proposed the largest rescissions request ever made to Congress.
This first round of rescissions goes after "unobligated balances" or money that was previously appropriated but never spent. The list includes:
- $7 billion from unnecessary or expired CHIP programs;
- $4.3 billion from the Energy Department's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program, inactive since 2011;
- $523 million from the Energy Department's Title 17 "innovative technology" loan guarantee program, inactive since 2011;
- $252 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development's 2015 Ebola response;
- $148 million from Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for already-resolved disease outbreaks;
- $133 million from a Railroad Retirement Board program that ended in 2012;
- $107 million from unused watershed rehabilitation programs following Superstorm Sandy; and
- $47 million from a Federal Transit Administration account that has stagnated for 13 years.
Lawmakers—Republicans and Democrats alike—have no excuses. Every dollar in this proposal is "no longer necessary, has been diverted from its original intent, or has sat unused for years." President Trump's initial request strategically goes after unobligated funds before tackling the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill to help lawmakers build muscle memory on the process first.
The first step is to put pressure on the House to act immediately and then tout House-passage as a victory.
After that, we shift our attention to the Senate and say, "the House acted. Now it is the Senate's turn." It's only with a strong House showing that we can force the issue in the Senate and get the votes necessary to lay the foundation for going after the next pot of wasteful money.
As House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said yesterday, "This is I believe the first of many rescission packages that you'll see."
We need every conservative on board and engaged in this effort. To get up to speed on the rescissions process, read Heritage Action's Wesley Coopersmith's blog post, "GOP Should Exercise Fiscal Restraint through the Impoundment Control Act" and Russ Vought's op-ed, "The White House Announces Its Rescission Package."
Dan
Dan Holler
Vice President
Heritage Action for America
Heritage Action for America | 214 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Suite 400 | Washington, DC 20002
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