Gosar Amendment to Cut $1,235,000 Passes House

Statement

Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 5882, the fiscal year 2013 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, which included a budget cutting amendment introduced by Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Gosar's amendment took the U.S. Botanical Garden to FY 2009 levels and added the savings to the Spending Reduction Account, which goes to pay off the deficit.

The Botanic Garden has proven its ability to use tax dollars in a cost-effective and efficient way to provide beneficial educational opportunities to thousands of Americans who visit the facility every year. However, given the current U.S. financial crisis, difficult cuts are necessary; it is important the burden is shared across the board. The Gosar Amendment passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 213-193.

"We must get back to the place our founding fathers and our Constitution meant for us to be by making appropriate cuts where we can to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. All programs that are not constitutionally mandated, no matter how nice they are, need to be evaluated for their constitutional purpose and the necessity for American taxpayers to fund them. There is no better time than now--during a time of economic crisis, when families and businesses are forced to trim their personal budgets to make ends meet.

"While I truly value the United States Botanic Garden, our fiscal crisis threatens the well-being of every single American, and even good and worthy programs such as the United States Botanic Garden cannot be spared from our effort to scale down our federal budget significantly. I have said repeatedly, if it's not essential to our country, "it is going to get a haircut.' I am confident that even with this reduced budget, the Botanic Garden will be able to offer an educational experience to all of us and to our constituents when they come to visit Capitol Hill."

The FY2013 Legislative Appropriations bill passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support by a vote of 307-102.

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