Propose $2.5 Trillion in Spending Cuts, Check

Rep. Jim Jordan proposes federal budget cuts which will save $2.5 Trillion over ten years

by Mark Cavers

Representatives Jim Jordan and Scott Garrett, and Senator Jim Demint have proposed spending reforms which will save us $2.5 trillion dollars over the next ten years. The congressmen advocate returning non-defense discretionary federal spending to 2008 levels for fiscal year 2011 and then trimming to 2006 levels for fiscal years 2012-2021.  These reforms alone would save $2.37 trillion over the ten year period.

Additionally, the three congressmen have proposed a number of other saving measures including:

• Ending Amtrak Subsidies: $1.565 billion savings annually
• Cuts to federal travel budgets and vehicle budgets: $7.5 billion and $600 million annually
• Intercity and high-speed rail grants: $2.5 billion annually
• Trim general assistance to the District of Columbia: $210 million annually

The spending cuts proposed by members of the Republican Study Committee are a brave, proactive move to show that raising taxes and forcing families to cut their budgets is not the only, or even the best, answer to government’s chronic overspending.  Here in Illinois, we showed how you can balance the budget by trimming government spending instead of socking families with a 67% tax increase (which still might not balance the budget).

The full list of cuts proposed by the RSC can be found here.