Expediated Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2012

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. I thank the chairman.

I respect the bipartisan efforts of my colleagues on the Budget Committee, but I oppose passage of H.R. 3521. This bill grants the executive branch more power, and it will do little to reduce our deficit. Make no mistake, this bill sacrifices congressional authority. If H.R. 3521 were a serious effort to reduce our deficit, it would address the hundreds of billions of dollars we currently spend through our Tax Code.

In fiscal year 2010, tax expenditures constituted a bigger part of our budget than Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and national defense. Tax expenditures were twice as large as all nondiscretionary spending combined. With the Federal budget on an unsustainable path, our country's fiscal problems need to be addressed in a way that is both effective and equitable. Scaling back and reforming tax expenditures must be an important part of the effort.

The bipartisan Simpson-Bowles report explained that the spending in the Tax Code costs over $1 trillion every year. They call these tax earmarks. Why? Because they are special tax breaks granted to special taxpayers.

Tax expenditures are not periodically reviewed; and unlike the budgets of individual Federal Government Departments and agencies, which are set by Congress and annually reviewed through the appropriations process, special interest earmarks in law today contribute directly to deficit spending. A report by the Joint Committee on Taxation says tax expenditures ``may be considered to be analogous to direct outlay programs, and the two can be considered as alternative means of accomplishing similar budget policy objectives.''

Very few Members know what's hidden in our Tax Code because it's not subject to annual scrutiny like the budget. Special interest spending in our Tax Code does not deserve more protection in the budget process than public interest appropriations that support our local communities, our police and fire departments, and our schools.

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