Alexander to Offer Resolutions to Ban Unfunded Mandates, New Entitlement Spending

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today sent the attached letter to his Republican colleagues announcing that he will offer two resolutions at next week's meeting of Republican senators. The first resolution, if passed by the Republican Conference, would state the Conference's opposition to imposing new unfunded federal mandates on state and local governments, and the second, if passed, would state the Conference's opposition to creating new entitlement programs. Alexander's resolution banning unfunded mandates has 12 cosponsors, and his resolution banning new entitlements has 11 cosponsors, including senators in the incoming freshman class.

Senator Alexander said: "The new health care law is the most vivid example of Washington politicians putting into law their big ideas and sending the bill to state and local taxpayers. Governor Bredesen has estimated that the law will cost Tennessee $1.1 billion over five years from 2014 to 2019."

In discussing entitlements, Senator Alexander added, "Automatic entitlement spending has grown from 31 percent of the total budget in 1970 to over 56 percent today. It is the principal source of the runaway federal debt. A good first step to get this problem under control is to say that no new entitlement programs will be created in the 112th Congress."

Below is the text of the two proposed resolutions:

* Moratorium on Washington unfunded mandates on state and local governments

Resolved, the Senate Republican Conference believes that Congress should not create new federal unfunded mandates on state and local governments. In furtherance of this goal, it is the policy of the Conference to:

1. Support an amendment to the Budget Act or the annual budget resolution creating a point of order against federal unfunded mandates on state and local governments, which point of order may be waived by a vote of three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn.
2. Ask the Ranking Republican Member of the Budget Committee to undertake a review of federal unfunded mandates on state and local governments and, where appropriate, recommend the repeal or amendment of those mandates.

* Moratorium on new entitlement spending programs

Resolved, during the 112th Congress the Senate Republican Conference believes Congress should not enact any new entitlement (mandatory spending) programs.

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