Sununu Calls for Spending Offsets
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 – Seven Republican Senators, including New Hampshire’s John Sununu, proposed Tuesday that $125 billion be cut from federal spending over the next two years to offset the billions of dollars being spent on hurricane relief efforts.
Among other cuts, the group proposed eliminating all earmarked funds, totaling about $24 billion, in the recently passed transportation bill.
“We ought to be willing to set priorities,” Sununu said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “We ought to be willing to make some tough choices.”
With $69 million, New Hampshire has fewer transportation earmarks-money included in the bill for specific projects in addition to the formula-driven general federal highway and transit aid-than any other state. The state would continue to get about $778 million over the next five years.
The earmarks include $20 million for construction, widening and structural improvements of Little Bay Bridge in Portsmouth, $5.2 million to improve Route 110 in Berlin, $3.6 million to realign an intersection in Claremont and $1.6 million to construct a park-and -ride facility on I-93 in Londonderry.
“Now is a time to do the difficult but imperative job of distinguishing between needs and wants,” Sununu added in a press release. “Although many in Washington may think otherwise, the federal government’s resources are finite.”
The seven Republicans, who call themselves the Senate Fiscal Watch Team, also proposed a five percent reduction in all non-defense, non-homeland security discretionary spending, as well as the creation of a one percent contingency fund that could be used for programs that are cut and later deemed necessary.
Under the proposal, the senators also recommended a temporary delay in the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug program except for low-income senior citizens, requiring the other recipients to pay higher Medicare Part B premiums in 2006 rather than 2007 and a freeze in annual cost of living adjustments for all non-military, non-law enforcement federal employees and members of Congress.
“All of us feel that the people down in the Gulf Coast who were so severely affected by both Katrina and Rita, they deserve help,” Sen. John Ensign of Nevada said at the press conference. “What we want to do is combine that compassion with responsibility for our children. We do not want to hand this debt off to the next generation.”
The other members of the Senate Fiscal Watch Team are Sam Brownback of Kansas, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona.
In addition to spending cuts, the senators voiced their support for Brownback’s proposed legislation to create a bipartisan Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies that would seek to identify wasteful and outdated government programs. The commission, which would exist for a limited time and draft legislation for Congress’ review, would be patterned after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission that reviews military bases.
While confident the proposed spending cuts would significantly offset Katrina relief, the group recognized that challenges lay ahead.
“This is going to be a long, hard, tough fight,” McCain said at the press conference.
