WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 3, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Representative Reid Ribble (WI-08) today announced the introduction of a bill he authored to restore Congress’s ability to set priorities and control federal spending. H.R 2884, the Power of the Purse Act of 2015, removes the “firewall” that exists within sequestration between defense and non-defense discretionary spending, allowing Congress to regain the power of the purse.
“Benjamin Franklin said that a nation is best off when control of its money is handled by those who are the most ‘immediate representatives of the people,’ ” Ribble said, “and by removing the arbitrary firewall that exists under the sequestration budget caps between defense and non-defense discretionary spending, we restore that control to Congress. While it is crucial that we continue to work to rein in federal spending and cut our deficits, the people’s elected representatives must have the power to direct spending where it is needed most. The Power of the Purse Act of 2015 allows Congress to do just that.”
Democrats and Republicans struggled to find common ground in 2011 when the national debt was the most significant hurdle we faced – deficits at the time were running well over $1 trillion annually. Today, we are facing new challenges domestically and an unprecedented number of threats around the world. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) poses one of the greatest terrorist threats we’ve seen since September 11, 2001, while Iraq, Syria and Yemen descend further into chaos. Iran remains committed to advancing its nuclear infrastructure while continuing to meddle and support instability in the region. And we have seen an alarming rise in cyber threats, from both non-state and state actors – like Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Domestically, we have a $16 billion deficit annually in our crucial transportation funding system, healthcare costs for chronic diseases are ballooning, and more and more students are graduating with crushing student debt. We have legitimate spending priorities both domestic and defense-related, and under current law, no ability to debate and shift funding to where it is needed most. With all this in mind, it is more crucial than ever that Congress is able to prioritize the use of taxpayer dollars to fulfill our most urgent needs, and the Power of the Purse Act of 2015 is an important step in the right direction.
