Proposed Legislation Compounds Debt and Deficit Issues of the Tax Bill

For Immediate Release

The House of Representatives is scheduled to consider legislation to fund the government through January 19th and temporarily extend expiring programs. The legislation would also exclude the costs of tax cuts from PAYGO rules and delay enforcement of discretionary spending limits. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

It is sadly ironic this deal that increases spending and busts budget discipline to fund the government was unveiled almost immediately after a tax bill that also busts budget discipline.

Excluding tax cuts and increased spending from PAYGO rules meant to control the deficit and ignoring spending limits will set up a dire fiscal state and hasten the return of annual trillion-dollar deficits, perhaps as early now as next fiscal year.

Year-end, debt-financed spending binges by Congress is not the way to govern.  Over the coming months and years, our nation will grapple with trillion-dollar unpaid-for tax cuts, surging budget deficits, and our largest mandatory spending programs on a path towards insolvency.  We cannot solve big problems with a budget process that is broken – it is time to reform the system and put an end to this cycle of 11th-hour continuing resolutions and giant budget-busting omnibus bills.

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For more information contact Patrick Newton, press secretary, at newton@crfb.org.