Support continues for USA Act
The USA Act is Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’s latest effort to help restore the voice of, “We, the People,” and reclaim the power of the purse on behalf of America’s families and individuals. Here’s a look at the continuing support for McMorris Rodgers’s USA Act.
American Commitment: End unauthorized federal spending
“The federal government is scheduled to spend $310 billion of your tax dollars this year on federal programs that are not authorized by law according to the Congressional Budget Office. … The good news is an innovative legislative solution has been proposed by Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers: automatic reductions in spending via sequestration for programs that remain unauthorized, and ultimately phasing them out completely unless Congress acts to reauthorize them.”
“These major agencies and all of the other programs operating without legal authorization are set on autopilot, with no meaningful oversight from our elected officials in Congress to review their purpose, structure, or effectiveness with our tax dollars. From an institutional standpoint, the vast majority of congressional committees have been made irrelevant, because programs in their jurisdiction continue—whether authorized or not.”
“Rep. McMorris Rodgers’s ingenious bill restores Congress’s authorizing committees to their proper role. The Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act of 2016, H.R. 4730, would penalize programs that do not seek and receive reauthorization with automatic spending cuts – enforced by the only mechanism we know cannot be easily sidestepped: sequestration.”
“It is no secret that Congress wastes a lot of time in committee hearings and markups that ultimately have no impact on anything – because everything gets funded anyway in a big year-end package. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’s USA Act flips that autopilot switch off and actually closes federal programs that fail to justify their effectiveness. Finally.”
“The American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization dedicated to limited government, free markets and federalism, supports the goals of the Unauthorized Spending Act and believes it to be sound budget policy that would benefit both taxpayers and our federal government.”
“America’s taxpayers deserve strong advocates in Congress protecting their hard earned wages, not deference to unelected bureaucrats.”
“Unauthorized appropriations are a significant waste of taxpayer dollars. Thankfully, Budget Committee Chairman Price and Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers will continue to advance policy solutions that respect hardworking taxpayers.
“This important piece of legislation takes a significant step to halt unauthorized spending and to restore Americans’ trust in their government. A bill like this is long overdue, and AMAC applauds Chairman McMorris Rodgers for her bold stance on behalf of the American People. With an ever-increasing deficit, and vital entitlements like Medicare and Social Security facing looming insolvency, the USA Act offers a practical and timely solution to a financial crisis decades in the making.”
“Unlike previous bills aimed at cutting programs and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, H.R. 4730 grants Congress the necessary legal power to see these programs terminated or properly reauthorized. By implementing a three-year sunset on all unauthorized and expiring appropriated programs, and by mandating that all new and reauthorizing appropriated programs must have a three-year sunset provision, the USA Act will stem the tide of runaway government spending. In addition to restoring financial order in Washington, this bill will also return power to the Peoples’ representatives, allowing them to further scrutinize where and how taxpayer dollars are being spent.”
“We commend Chairman McMorris Rodgers and her attentive staff for their commonsense, fiscally responsible, and forward-thinking solution that will affect millions of Americans nationwide. AMAC is pleased to offer our organization’s full support to the Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act.”
On March 14, 2016, McMorris Rodgers introduced the Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act of 2016 (H.R. 4730). McMorris Rodgers’ legislation has received strong support from organizations across the country, including Americans for Prosperity, the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste, FreedomWorks, the American Conservative Union, the Hispanic Leadership Fund, the Black Economic-Security Trust, Generation Opportunity, and many others. Click here to learn more.