Guest Blogger: The CRs Simple and Complex Spending Cuts

Rep. Tom Graves / February 16, 2011

Of the $100 billion in spending cuts in H.R. 1, the Continuing Resolution (CR), some are big, others are small, but all are vital reductions that help our nation regain its financial footing. In some cases, the bill simply seeks to eliminate entire programs or blocks of funding. In others, the bill takes a more complex approach and prohibits agencies from spending taxpayer dollars to carry out certain policies.

We find a great example of the simple cut in section 1529, which eliminates funding for the President’s “Unanticipated Needs” fund. Unknown to most people, the President has been given $1 million annually to “meet unanticipated needs for the furtherance of the national interest.” Only after the money is spent does the President have to report where the money went. Spend now, and ask for forgiveness later? Not in this bill. Interpreted in English, this is a Presidential slush fund—a prime candidate for waste and abuse—and a no-brainer spending cut for a nation with a $14 trillion debt. (more…)