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Legislation & Politics | ||
Letter to Members of the Senate Budget Committee opposing S. 3521June 20, 2006 Members of the Budget Committee Dear Senator: On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I urge you to oppose S. 3521, which would implement harmful procedural changes to the federal budget process, including granting the President a line-item veto. AFSCME opposes S. 3521 for a number of reasons, including because it attempts to balance the budget exclusively through spending cuts without restricting costly tax breaks. Specifically, it would impose tight caps on discretionary spending and automatic cuts to entitlement programs, which harm working families. It would be unwise for Congress to tie its hands on budget decisions with this restrictive proposal, particularly at a time of war and amidst threatening inflationary pressures. Furthermore, these changes are unnecessary because Congress already has the ability to balance the budget with common sense decisions to enact sound budget and tax legislation. We also oppose S. 3521 because it would call for a one-sided Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) process which focuses exclusively on spending cuts while ignoring costly tax breaks. In recent years, the Bush tax breaks have significantly reduced federal revenues and contributed significantly to record-sized federal deficits. To avoid larger deficits and to be equitable, any PAYGO measure, at a minimum, should apply to both spending and tax policies. We are also disturbed that S. 3521 seeks to eliminate the deficit by 2012 by establishing deficit caps and then, if needed, meeting them through the use of arbitrary automatic cuts to entitlement programs. We oppose automatic cuts to entitlement programs, including critical services such as Medicaid, Medicare, and Veterans' benefits. Implementing these cuts would endanger the health of America's elderly, working families, and children. In addition, these cuts could imperil the budgets of states, cities, and America's infrastructure of public health providers. AFSCME opposes the proposed line-item veto because it grants too much authority to the President and undermines Congress' role in finalizing budget decisions. While Senator Gregg calls it a "fast-track rescission", we must note that the President already has the authority to propose rescissions. Furthermore, the President frequently communicates his positions to Congress on key legislation through a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP), which often emphasizes specific spending levels and programs. We are also opposed to Senator Gregg's proposals to establish an "Entitlement Commission" and "Sunset Commission", which are intended to implement spending cuts. Senator Gregg himself recently said, "Everybody is tired of commissions". Budget decisions should not be turned over to unelected commissions, operating behind closed doors, that would make recommendations that Congress would be forced to consider as a single package without amendment. S. 3251 is unnecessary and will hurt working families. I urge you to oppose this proposal.
Charles M. Loveless |
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