Key Vote NO on Any FY 2016 Funding Bill That Exceeds the Spending Caps
As one of over 6.9 million FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to call your representative and senators and demand that they refuse to vote for any Continuing Resolution or other government funding bill for Fiscal Year 2016 that spends above the levels set by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.
Federal government spending is once again increasing at a critical level. Driven largely by increases in automatic spending programs like Social Security and Medicare, deficits are on pace to steadily increase back to the incredible levels we saw from 2008-2010, to over a trillion dollars in new debt per year. That’s adding to the over $18 trillion in debt already on the books.
To put into perspective how dangerous this level of spending and debt can be, in only eight years the amount we have to pay just to cover the interest payments on our debt will be larger than what we spend on national defense.
Republicans were elected to control of Congress in large part to check this explosive growth of government. Yet since 2011, the only real restraint they have achieved on the growth of spending is these spending caps and the resulting sequestration cuts. Modest though they are, this modest application of the brakes on spending has succeeded in at least slowing down our dangerous accumulation of debt, buying precious time to address the larger problems of entitlement spending and slow economic growth.
While President Obama has been adamant about increasing domestic spending at any cost, basic math shows the utter foolhardiness of committing to even more expenses that we can’t afford. Congress is on sound ground to demand that discretionary spending remain under the $1.016 trillion level that the budget caps demand, and there is zero excuse to budge from that number. Breaking the caps would not only be irresponsible, it would also betray the essential promise that a Republican-led Congress would do everything they could to limit an out-of-control government.
Thus, FreedomWorks will score against any spending bill for Fiscal Year 2016 which spends above the levels set by the BCA caps. Any vote to break the caps will be scored as a Key Vote when calculating our Congressional Scorecard for 2015. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of Congress who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.
Sincerely,
Adam Brandon
CEO, FreedomWorks
