Committees Vote for Immediate Cuts to Federal Budget

Statement

The Agriculture Committee and the Financial Services Committee are two of the six House committees that have, as a part of the federal budget process, been tasked with coming up with cuts to help meet $261 billion in immediate savings to prevent devastating across-the-board cuts to our military. The Agriculture Committee is looking to improve how we deliver nutrition assistance, which will reduce the cost of programs by $33 billion over ten years. The legislation aims to close loopholes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP--formerly known as food stamps) and reduce waste and abuse.

The Financial Services Committee has identified $35 billion in savings that would come from eliminating a fund that is meant to prevent future bank bailouts, and reforming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which currently gets a blank check every year from the Federal Reserve with no Congressional oversight. Decisions on how to cut our budget are never easy. But if we continue to avoid taking decisive action, our children and grandchildren will face a crushing burden of debt tomorrow. We owe it to them to find smart ways to live within our means and reduce our deficit so they might have the same opportunities we have had.

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