June 6, 2018

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative,

On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support H.R. 3, the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act.

President Trump’s nearly $15 billion rescissions package is the largest in history. H.R. 3 targets unobligated funds that have been identified in CCAGW’s annual Prime Cuts and Congressional Pig Book, as well as other sources, that have been sitting in agency accounts for years.

Between fiscal years (FY) 1974 and 2000, presidents from both parties submitted nearly $76 billion in rescissions, of which Congress accepted $25 billion. In FYs 1981 and 1982, Congress accepted more than 65 percent of President Reagan’s $23 billion in proposed rescissions.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that eviscerated the 2011 Budget Control Act and the mammoth 2,232-page, $1.3 trillion omnibus appropriations bill were indications that members of Congress are not interested in fixing Washington’s chronic spending problem. H.R. 3 is a good first step toward spending restraint and restoring taxpayers’ faith in the ability of elected officials to tackle the nation’s fiscal issues.

I urge bipartisan support for President Trump’s commonsense, money-saving proposal and look forward to future rescission packages that address other areas of spending, including the omnibus appropriations bill. All votes on H.R. 3 will be among those considered for CCAGW’s 2018 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW

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