Appropriations time in Congress
makes most people’s eyes roll to the back of their heads. But for those
seeking to rein in President Obama, it is like Christmas time with the
opportunity to target cuts directly at all parts of Obama’s agenda.
Unfortunately, Harry Reid plays the
unreformed Grinch in Congress as he has stopped all Senate action on individual
appropriations bills, virtually ensuring another Sept. 30, end-of-fiscal-year
spending showdown.
Having seen this movie time and
again during the past five years, it is tempting to change the channel and just
disconnect from the whole process. But wait – there’s hope.
The sheer volume of defund
amendments offered and passed in the House dramatically increases the odds that
a number of Obama programs will get haircuts or even be stopped dead in their
tracks.
It would be inaccurate to state that
big ticket items like Obamacare will be changed much, but the battle over this
spending will likely open the doors for other lower-profile spending cuts –
like ending Obama’s Internet giveaway or stopping EPA sue-and-settle practices
for the year – to possibly find their way into law after the political
wrangling is done.
While it is impossible to predict at
this stage which cuts will end up being signed by Obama, Robert Romano of
Americans for Limited Government did an outstanding job of outlining 23
defunds that Congress should do just from
the Financial Services budget.
With this budget including the IRS
and the FCC, as well as the Treasury Department, Congress could withhold all
bonuses for IRS employees until all of the documents requested related to the
targeting of Tea Party groups are given to Congress. Congress could defund the
implementation of Obama’s new net neutrality regulations, and it could stop
implementation of his new “Broadband Technologies Opportunity Plan,” which
expands the Obamaphone concept to the Internet.
Limited government Members of
Congress and leaders around the nation need to join Americans for Limited
Government in embracing the opportunities presented by Harry Reid’s refusal to
allow individual appropriations bills to go to the President and push for the
inclusion of at least one hundred rifle shot defunds that will hamstring
Obama’s fundamental transformation.
If only fifty of these end up in
law, it will be fifty victories where sand has been thrown in the gears of
Obama’s regulatory machine that threatens to choke America.
The question is no longer whether
Obama’s transformation can occur; it is now how far will his transformation be
allowed to proceed?
The appropriations, continuing
resolution, and omnibus processes are the opportunity to put the brakes on many
of these regulatory aggressions against limited government; and rather than
cringe at the thought of another budget fight, I say, bring it on.
Let’s fight over what America should
look like in the post-Obama era, because that is a fight that limited
government supporters have a decent chance of winning.
The author is president of Americans
for Limited Government.
http://netrightdaily.com/2015/07/a-time-to-kill-government-spending/
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