Sununu and GOP Rally to Cut Spending
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 – Six members of Congress, including New Hampshire GOP Sen. John Sununu, issued a range of proposals Thursday to cut federal spending to pay for Katrina relief.
“We know that we’ve got an obligation to provide funding for this disaster relief,” Sununu said at a press conference. “But we cannot allow deficit spending to suddenly renew itself and begin increasing out of control. It creates long-term economic liabilities for our children and grandchildren that would forestall the very opportunities that we want to try and create.”
The group proposed that the government cut all non-defense and non-homeland security discretionary spending by five percent across the board. The bulk of that money would contribute to the Katrina funding, with the balance in a contingency fund for the president and Congress to spend if they conclude that cuts in particular programs go to far.
This plan could save the government $15 billion-$20 billion that could offset the costs of Katrina relief, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada) said at the press conference.
The legislators also suggested the government delay Medicare prescription drug benefits by two years for all but low-income senior citizens.
If the government does not find a way to reduce spending, “we’re spending the future generations’ opportunities,” said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
Other proposed ways the government can reduce spending to fund Katrina relief include reducing the recently enacted federal highway bill, eliminating federal accounting errors, which, according to the group, could save about $100 billion each year, and abolishing the General Service Administration’s practice of paying “middle man” fees for the procurement of goods when, they said, this could be done in the private sector at a cheaper cost.
“This is a time of sacrifice as well as assistance,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg said in a telephone interview that he also believes the government can meet the cost of Katrina relief by reducing unnecessary spending.
While New Hampshire Rep. Jeb Bradley said tax hikes can only worsen the relief efforts by depressing the economy, Rep. Charles Bass, also from New Hampshire, said he wants to leave all options “on the table” until the effects of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita are better understood.
Not everyone, however, agrees that spending cuts alone will be sufficient..
“I don’t think that’s a feasible solution,” said Bruce Katz, the vice president and director of metropolitan policy at The Brookings Institution, a liberal think tank in Washington. “Perhaps a small segment of the funding could be offset by spending cuts.”
Katz said while the government should cut spending, legislators should also consider delaying planned cuts in taxes, such as permanent repeal of the estate tax.
“That seems to be the way to generate large amount of revenues that could be used to fund recovery,” Katz added. “Spending cuts, particularly those that are geared toward the low income, seems to be just hurting other very vulnerable people in our society at a time when Katrina unmasked how persistent poverty still is.”
Though Brian Riedl, a spokesman for the conservative Heritage Foundation, said “economically there is no shortage of wasteful and unnecessary spending in the federal budget,” he added that a lot will depend on how willing legislators are to make necessary cuts.
“If history is any guide, lawmakers will refuse to make any of the difficult decisions necessary to rein in spending,” he said. “Every program, no matter how wasteful or useless, will be defended to the death by some special interest who benefits. If Congress isn’t willing to take on wasteful programs, then this will just be dumped into the debt for the next generation.”
