U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) outlined his targeted steps to tackle Washington’s binge spending. Brown’s measures include reducing government spending, setting budget priorities, increasing transparency and accountability for taxpayers and eliminating waste and abuse in government agencies and programs:
 | Ending Earmarks In Washington: Senator Brown is opposed to earmarks, and is the only member of the Massachusetts delegation who refuses to sponsor them. Senator Brown believes that federal spending should be prioritized based on the merits of projects, not on the political influence of a particular member of Congress. In December, Senator Brown opposed the Omnibus Appropriations bill because it was laden with thousands of earmarks and wasteful government spending, and he will continue to support reforms to the appropriations process that incentivize thoughtful stewardship of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. |
Increasing Transparency For Taxpayers: In order to help taxpayers understand where their money is being spent, Senator Brown will introduce the bipartisan Taxpayer Receipt Act with U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). Brown and Nelson’s bill would provide an itemized taxpayer receipt showing taxpayers where every dime of money paid to the Federal government is getting spent, and how much new debt we’ve put on the national credit card. The receipt would arrive when a taxpayer files their tax returns, on or before April 15th of each year.
Reading Bills And Understanding The Cost: Senator Brown believes all legislative matters should be made available to the public and fully scored by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) before a final Senate vote. Under current law, the Senate has to wait 48 hours before considering a bill that includes a committee report after a bill is reported out of committee. Senator Brown’s bipartisan 48 Hour Spending Transparency Resolution would apply that 48 hour threshold (as well as the CBO score requirement) before any consideration of a legislative matter by a subcommittee or committee, or on the floor of the Senate.
Tackling The Debt: Senator Brown believes that continuing down our current fiscal path threatens the future stability of our country. Senator Brown believes that we should change the way we budget and spend – putting a system in place that helps the federal government prioritize what we really need, while eliminating what we can live without and balancing the budget. On February 1st, Senator Brown sent a letter to the Budget Committee calling for responsible Budget reform. The letter asked Budget Committee leaders to ensure that priorities are actually established before the Senate holds any vote to increase our nation’s debt limit.
Cutting Wasteful Government Spending: Senator Brown is a co-sponsor of the Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act to give the President additional tools, such as a constitutional line-item veto procedure, to eliminate the kind of reckless spending that sticks taxpayers with the bill for congressional pork. This authority helped Congress and the President balance the budget in the past and it can again. Senator Brown also co-sponsored a resolution that would cut back the Senate budget. When families across Massachusetts are making tough choices, we should be doing the same.
Eliminating Waste, Fraud, Abuse In Federal Agencies And Programs: For too long, federal agencies and programs have been immune from accountability and oversight. For example, recent Congressional testimony estimates that $60 billion – or approximately thirteen percent – of our nation’s Medicare spending is at risk of fraud. The Social Security program is also not immune. In fiscal year 2008, the Social Security Administration (SSA) made overpayments in the Social Security Income (SSI) program alone that totaled $ 4.6 billion.
Last year, as ranking member of the Contracting Oversight subcommittee of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Brown sent a list of recommendations to the President’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, providing concrete proposals to radically reform the acquisition process and save billions of taxpayer dollars. This Congress, Senator Brown will introduce the Federal Acquisition Reform Act – comprehensive legislation that will potentially save billions by streamlining the way the federal government purchases goods and services. As the new ranking member of the Federal Financial Management (FFM) Subcommittee, Senator Brown will hold hearings on the Social Security Program, the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, and federal agencies to root out the problems within these programs and ensure they are operating efficiently.
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