Since President Obama left office, congressional Democrats have developed a curious habit of pretending to be fiscal watchdogs. Unfortunately, they are only using federal spending as an excuse to feign moral outrage and play political theater.

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and strongly encourage him or her to cosponsor the One Percent Spending Reduction Act, H.R. 5572, introduced by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.). The bill, also known as the “penny plan,” would balance the federal budget in five years by simply cutting one penny from every dollar the federal government spends.

Opponents of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which delivered much-needed tax relief to the middle class and business owners large and small, have complained that the law is contributing to the increase in expected budget deficits over the next ten years. Certainly, budget deficits are a serious concern, and Congress has shown no interest in addressing the problem.

On April 10, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed the Executive Order on Economic Mobility. President Trump’s plan outlines nine “principles of economic mobility” that are bound to lift struggling Americans towards self-sufficiency. Among these principles are boosting employment, promoting stable families, and choosing federalism over top-down programs.

Fiscal conservatives rightly opposed the Bipartisan Budget Act, H.R. 1892, because it blew through the spending caps by nearly $300 billion over two years and set the tone for more long-term spending by increasing the baseline at which Congress will budget. Still, this two-year budget deal only covers discretionary spending for FY 2018 and FY 2019 and doesn't touch mandatory spending, which includes programs like Medicare and Social Security whose funding runs on autopilot.

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its semiannual report on federal spending. The report, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2018 to 2028, looks at trends in federal spending, budget deficits, and the share of the national debt held by the public. If one is looking at the report through the lens of fiscal conservatism, the picture is ominous to say the least.

As the mandatory piece of federal expenditures consumes an ever-increasing percentage of the overall federal budget, Medicaid spending continues to rise within this mandatory piece. Many factors have contributed to skyrocketing Medicaid expenditures by the federal government, but much of this has not been to the benefit of those that Medicaid was enacted to help.

In a press conference on Friday, President Donald Trump criticized the process that Congress used to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 1625, although he signed the spending bill into law. Still, he threatened to veto a future spending bill that was packed with wasteful spending and unrelated legislative priorities.

Arguments from Republicans in favor of the omnibus spending package passed by Congress last week are almost all tied together by a common theme: “our military needs this.” The $700 billion appropriated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 1625, for defense spending is argued to be crucial for the security of our country. This mantra resonated loudly among the 145 Republican representatives and 25 Republican senators who cast a “yea” vote for the omnibus last Thursday.