Budget is Sweet And Sour

Press Release

The Senate Budget Committee began its annual rite of passage this week, marking up its Fiscal Year 2011 budget resolution -- the blueprint that determines federal spending for the next fiscal year and sets a tone for the following five years. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., offered four amendments covering a broad spectrum of issues important to Wyoming, all of which were accepted by the committee.

"I was pleased to see my colleagues agree to keep taxes low, grant taxpayers better access to the IRS appeals office, ensure workplace safety, and retain Wyoming's share of revenue from mineral rights," said Enzi.

Even with Enzi's amendments, however, the bill failed to do enough to rein in rampant federal spending and exploding deficits and in the end, Enzi voted against the budget resolution. The resolution still passed the Budget Committee.

"The budget sets the tone for how Congress spends taxpayer money over the next few years. It is essential that we listen to the American people and stop reckless and inefficient spending," said Enzi. "This budget still spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much."

Enzi Amendments to Improve Bill

Enzi offered four amendments that were accepted by the Budget Committee in today's session.

Taxpayer access to timely appeals - Currently, Wyoming and eight other states do not have a full-time IRS appeals officer or a full-time settlement agent physically located within the state. The appeals process is the last step for taxpayers to argue the merits of their return before a Notice of Deficiency is recorded and the collection process begins. Without dedicated IRS appeals and settlement officers in the state, taxpayers must travel long distances to other jurisdictions or wait for an IRS officer to cycle through their home state to exercise their right to an appeal. This places a significant burden on low-income workers, the disabled and the elderly. Enzi's amendment asks the IRS to redeploy existing resources to make these key officials available on a full-time basis in every state.

Net Receipts Sharing - This amendment would help restore the two-percent mineral royalties that some states lost to the federal government in a 2008 appropriations bill. The Enzi amendment would reclaim the lost revenue for the affected states assuming lawmakers could offset the cost with spending reductions elsewhere in the budget. Wyoming and other states' share of federal mineral royalties on public domain lands should be 50 percent of what is collected. However, because of the two percent provision in the 2008 appropriations bill, states receive 49 percent with the federal share being 51. This amendment would allow Wyoming to keep it' share, nearly $20 million, of federal mineral royalties to be put to use in Wyoming, not to pay more D.C. bureaucrats.

Tax relief for small business - This amendment would protect our nation's entrepreneurial sector (small businesses that file as sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs and S-corporations) from any increase in the individual income tax. U.S. entrepreneurs create between 60 and 80 percent of net new jobs, employ over half the domestic labor force, and generate more than one-half of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). But our entrepreneurial sector is threatened by the Administrations promise to let some of the 2001 and 2003 income tax breaks expire. This amendment would preserve the lower tax rates in perpetuity and offset the cost with spending reductions elsewhere in the federal budget.

OSHA Workplace Safety - This amendment would restore funding to the Department of Labor's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The VPP is the premier workplace safety program and has a proven record of making workplaces safer and saving taxpayer money.

Today's mark up was just the first step in the annual budget process. Now that the Senate Budget Committee has approved its resolution, it will be sent to the floor for open debate. When the House and Senate both complete their respective budget resolutions, they will be reconciled in conference and sent to the respective chambers for final approval.

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