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Against H.J. Res. 20 as Written
Thursday, February 8, 2007
By: Tom Schatz
Letter to Senate
Dear Senator,
Soon you will consider H.J. Res 20, a so-called continuing resolution (CR). On behalf of the more than 1.2 million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I ask that you oppose this bill unless amendments are allowed and changes are made to the legislation.
H.J. Res. 20 is a disappointment as a real CR would fund the government across-the-board at basically the same rate as the previous year’s appropriations. The government has been operating since last October without hardship and the CR is forcing bureaucracies to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. It is unfortunate that H.J. Res. 20 includes several exceptions to a regular CR and a clean resolution would save taxpayers more than $6 billion for fiscal year 2007.
H.J. Res. 20 uses smoke and mirrors so that total discretionary spending does not exceed $873 billion, the President’s fiscal 2007 discretionary spending request, but underfunds important defense programs, such as the Base Realignment and Closure 2005, and transfers the funds to pet domestic programs. Appropriators claim defense programs may be refunded in an emergency supplemental.
As for earmarks, while several wasteful multi-year earmarks continue to be financed, such as the indoor rain forest, it appears few new earmarks are being funded. While there is no report language for specific projects, the jury is still out on new earmarks, as the language regarding earmarks is unclear. Section 112 states that, “Any language specifying an earmark in a committee report or statement of managers accompanying an appropriations Act for fiscal year 2006 shall have no legal effect with respect to funds appropriated by this division.” However, earmarks in committee reports didn’t have legal effect to begin with so this is simply stating current law. The meaning of this section needs to be clarified.
Furthermore, in Section 113, the bill requires that “departments and agencies must submit to the Committee on Appropriations a spending, expenditure, or operating plan for fiscal year 2007 at a level of detail below the account level” within 30 days of enactment. CCAGW is concerned this may be a way to fund earmarks surreptitiously by members of Congress putting pressure on agencies to fund their pet projects. These plans should be made available to the public.
CCAGW prefers that a regular CR be passed by Congress and not a mini-omnibus that provides more questions than answers. This legislation as written should be opposed. All votes on H.J. Res. 20 will be among those considered for CCAGW’s 2007 Congressional Ratings.
Sincerely,
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