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Common-sense ideas will make a difference

By Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

National polls and feedback from North Carolina constituents highlight how the federal deficit and out-of-control federal spending are of great concern to most Americans.  In fact, 95 percent of constituents who responded to a recent survey that I sent out said that Congress should reduce spending.

How do we get government borrowing and the federal deficit under control?  That’s not a rhetorical question.  Thanks to the highest amount of government over-spending in history (more than a trillion dollars in new debt already this year) America is on pace to bequeath a crushing national debt to our descendents. 

The total national debt stands at more than $12.24 trillion, about $119,000 for every single taxpayer.  Our national debt also increases $4 billion every day and will probably hit $14 trillion within a year, illustrating the pressing nature of our national fiscal predicament.    

Eliminating the red ink won’t be easy, but North Carolinians don’t expect Congress to do just the easy stuff.  Putting our books in order will take many small steps and plenty of difficult, large ones—but the longer we wait the harder it gets.

To move us in the right direction, House Republicans have begun a new program called YouCut.  This web-based initiative is driven by the input and ideas of constituents who want to reduce spending and debt.  Each week tens of thousands of Americans visit the YouCut site at http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/ and vote on their favorite spending cut. 

For example, in July participants opted to cut spending for highway signs promoting the stimulus, which would save tens of millions of dollars. Other top spending reductions included the elimination of subsidies for first class passengers on Amtrak (saving $1.2 billion) and the prohibition of taxpayer-subsidized union activities—which would net another $1.2 billion in savings.

Each winning YouCut proposal is brought to the House floor for a vote.  While some House Democrats have voted for the YouCut proposals, none of the more than $120 billion in cuts supported by Republicans passed the House, despite the bipartisan support. 

YouCut is just one of many avenues for pursuing the better stewardship of your tax dollars.  Another is to reform the way government works to make it less wasteful and more responsive—concepts most people don’t often associate with the federal government.

Consider, for instance, the highway trust fund, which faces chronic shortfalls.  I authored legislation to help keep the federal highway trust fund solvent.  Without this bill we will probably have to bail out the trust fund again—which in 2008 required a whopping $8 billion taxpayer-funded infusion of general fund cash.  My idea is straightforward: stop forcing highway construction projects to pay artificially high wages. 

An archaic government mandate known as Davis-Bacon requires highway projects to pay what is called a “prevailing wage,” which in most cases is determined to be the union wage.  The problem is that the so-called “prevailing wage” varies wildly from project to project and a recent audit found errors in 100 percent of the wage surveys that determine prevailing wages. 

Instead of forcing artificially high wages on highway projects, my bill, the Highway Trust Fund Reform Act, gets rid of the Davis-Bacon red tape.  In addition to expediting highway project, this will save an estimated 10-15 percent on construction projects, which means 10-15 percent more highway projects completed with the same number of your tax dollars.  That’s a common sense way to keep spending in check and give you more bang for your buck.

As if to illustrate this point, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently reported that our high debt could bring on the sort of debt crisis facing big-spending European nations.  This need not be.  The list of ways to reduce spending and slim down the federal government is virtually endless, if Congress will only get serious about enacting spending cuts. 

I’d wager many readers have idea of their own—and I’m all ears.  If you have an idea, you can send it to me via my website at www.foxx.house.gov/contact or via mail to 6000 Meadowbrook Mall, Ste 3, Clemmons, NC 27012.  By working together we can put a dent in Washington’s wasteful ways and tame the debt monster that threatens our economic future.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx represents the Fifth Congressional District of North Carolina.  She currently serves on the House Rules Committee.  You may contact her office toll free at 1-866-677-8968 or e-mail her from her website, www.foxx.house.gov.