FreedomWorks Letter: Tell Your Senator to Support S.726 Decrease Spending Now Act

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our one million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 726, the Decrease Spending Now Act. Introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the bill mandates that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withdraw $45 billion from unobligated balances of discretionary appropriations within 60 days. 

A recent OMB report states that this year’s federal budget contains over $700 billion in unobligated balances. This means that hundreds of billions of dollars sits unspent in numerous government agencies. The report finds that $309.1 billion sits in the Treasury, $12.2 billion at the Agriculture Department, $16.4 billion at Labor, $71.4 billion at Defense and $25.2 billion at Housing and Urban Development. Sen. Coburn’s (R-OK) office found that at least $100 billion of these funds can safely be redirected immediately to reduce the national deficit. It is estimated that $82.4 billion of these funds are between six and twenty years old.

Congress must seek to eliminate wasteful spending wherever they find it. One of the most obvious examples of needless spending is Congress appropriating more money to a federal agency than it can spend. With our nation at over $14 trillion debt, we clearly cannot afford for our federal budget to include hundreds of billions in unobligated balances.

The Decrease Spending Now Act is a modest proposal that is a step in the right direction towards reining in excessive spending. Senators must stay true to their word by supporting any effort to reduce wasteful spending. I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to cosponsor Sen. Rubio’s Decrease Spending Now Act today.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a PDF version of this letter.]