Inglis calls on Congress to get tougher on spending

Inglis calls on Congress to get tougher on spending
Reforming process, restraining growth critical to prosperity

(February 6, 2006)

As President Bush unveiled his proposed FY '07 budget Monday, U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) called on major changes to restrain out of control spending and reform government programs.

In the first session of the 109th Congress, Inglis co-sponsored several pieces of legislation, aimed at curbing wasteful spending and getting back to fiscal responsibility. He supported the recently passed Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 trimmed nearly $40 billion off the $14 trillion budgeted for the next-five years.

We must be bolder to restrain spending

"We've either got to sober up or apologize to drunken sailors," Inglis said. "We've spent more than they ever thought of spending. We added Medicare Part D to a system facing bankruptcy and gave no thought to means testing it. We grew the federal government's role in education when we should have been focusing on the key missions of the federal government. We added earmarks when we should have been using a model closer to the National Science Foundation's peer-reviewed competitive grant process.

"The President's budget is a swipe toward clarity. We're going to need a whole roll of paper towels on the bridge of this ship of state to get the windshield clear."

Means Test Medicare Part D

Inglis has already signed onto a bill that would have delayed the start of Medicare Part D, prescription drug benefit for middle and high income seniors (H.R. 3870).

"How can we justify such an expansive universal entitlement program that will cost a trillion dollars over the next 10 years?" Inglis asked. "If we merely restrict it to low-income seniors we can save hundreds of billions of dollars."

http://inglis.house.gov/news.asp?content=sections/news/archive/2-06-06