Issue Position: Federal Budget Deficit

Issue Position

Entrenched D.C. politicians continue to disappoint, especially on the issue of federal spending.

While both political parties have a disappointing history of deficit-spending, the explosion of debt during the Obama administration is on an unsustainable trajectory that places our American way of life at risk. Obama and other irresponsible big spenders have created a ticking time bomb of debt.

To preserve our nation, I truly believe we must make historic structural spending changes, overhaul the federal bureaucracy and create a sound climate to foster economic growth. Private sector expansion (and the higher federal revenue growth it creates) is a huge piece of the "balance the budget and pay off the federal debt" puzzle.

Incumbent DFL Congressman Tim Walz is part of the problem. Campaigning for election in 2006, Walz rightfully criticized President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans for spending too much money and driving up the federal debt. Unfortunately, since being elected to Congress, Tim Walz has served as Chairman of the Big Spenders Caucus. Instead of supporting sound fiscal policies, Walz's liberal record is littered with big spending failures like Obamacare, an exploding federal bureaucracy, the $800 billion stimulus boondoggle, record trillion dollar deficits and a national debt that has more than doubled under his watch, going from roughly $8.5 trillion to the current level of $17.603 trillion, or $151,340 for every American taxpayer.

Last year Washington, D.C. gave us the Ryan-Murray budget deal (Walz voted Yea). The day the deal was considered by the House of Representatives I issued a press release rebuking the plan and stating for the record that, as a congressman, I would vote against the measure. (To run a successful campaign against an incumbent congressman a challenger must often take concrete positions and express views "in real time" to offer voters and reporters a clear contrast.)

I consider Ryan-Murray more of a political strategy to avoid confrontation than a serious attempt to restrain and restructure federal spending and priorities. Instead, we must stand for principle and enact bold reforms to wrestle spending and other powers from the Washington establishment (both Republican and Democrat) and send authority back to the states and the American people.

I champion the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, a federal spending freeze (plus 1 percent growth) and replacing baseline budgeting with zero-based budgeting. Zero-based budgeting requires federal agencies to justify annual budgets starting at zero. Such a change would help Congress uncover and block unnecessary spending, rather than simply padding layer upon layer of spending for needless and outdated programs.

I also support sun setting every federal program and regulation after a period of years. Once again, this would help conservatives block needless spending and regulatory burdens heaped upon the private sector. Lastly, we need to block grant monies back to the states for transportation, education and other general needs as well as transfer authority of Medicaid and other programs back to the states, where they can be more efficiently administered.

On the economic front we need to:

- Rid businesses and individuals of big government failures like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. These laws, voted for by Walz, are stifling economic growth, driving up consumer costs and drying up job opportunity.

- Implement regulatory reform (see above) to end excessive rules, especially emanating from the out-of-control EPA.

-Replace Walz's extremist cap and trade scheme with energy independence based upon an "all of the above" approach, starting with fossil fuel exploration on public lands, sustaining the coal industry and construction of pipelines, refineries and distribution points. We can create massive economic growth and help drive down the cost-of-living by placing downward pressure on energy prices. Our nation was built on abundant, reliable and low-cost energy and it is time to get back to that!

- Overhaul of the complicated and cluttered tax system with bold simplification that will enable Americans to hold, invest and spend money as they wish, rather than how Washington, D.C. politicians and bureaucrats coax them.

As for reforming the federal government, based upon my first-hand experience as a successful government reformer (passage of the EFT '99 Act), I can attest that every federal agency is filled with waste, duplication, mismanagement and other inefficiencies. As I have called for since 1994, it's time to begin the process of systematically reforming the federal bureaucracy, agency-by-agency.

Republicans should be open to joining with liberal Democrats in bipartisan fashion to comprehensively review and reform all agencies, starting with the Pentagon. Reforming and right-sizing federal agencies can be done, but it is hard work that goes against the DC grain of go-along-to-get-along spending.

It is never easy to fight big government, high-powered lobbyists and deep-rooted bureaucrats, but if we (conservative Republicans) truly stand for the principle of limited government, then it is time to fight for bold reforms and do some limiting. Republicans should make the Department of Defense the model of government reform; and after we establish credibility with the electorate, we should then apply our reform model to every department and office of the federal government.

I have the experience and drive to be a force in Congress and make an immediate impact fighting big government spending, implementing policies to foster economic growth and reforming the federal bureaucracy.

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