United States Rep. Mike Pence, the chairman of the over 100-member conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), has given U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.-5) a large share of the credit for the Deficit Reduction Act, calling her the “mo
Jefferson Post
United States Rep. Mike Pence, the chairman of the over 100-member conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), has given U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.-5) a large share of the credit for the Deficit Reduction Act, calling her the “mother of the offset.”
“We can all take a lot of credit for the Deficit Reduction Act, but none of this would have happened if Virginia Foxx had not shook her finger at me back in September and said we needed budget offsets,” said Rep. Pence during an RSC meeting Friday.
Early this morning, Rep. Foxx voted to pass the conference report for the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This legislation will eliminate waste and duplication in the federal government and yield approximately $40 billion dollars in savings for American taxpayers; including $3.5 billion in savings by eliminating dozens of wasteful government programs, and a “one percent across-the-board spending cut” that will save $8.5 billion.
“As a fiscal conservative, I was proud to support this important legislation to provide greater accountability to the American people,” said Rep. Foxx. “The approximately $40 billion saved by this plan will go a long way towards streamlining our government and getting our finances back in order.”
Recent natural disasters have further highlighted the need to reduce massive federal spending in government programs and to re-evaluate priorities. The Deficit Reduction Act contains a number of provisions that offset the cost of Gulf Coast disaster relief, trim the federal deficit and reform government programs including:
•Lowering prescription drug costs
•Reducing waste, fraud, and abuse
•Strengthening and simplifying student loan programs
•Rebuilding community first responder capabilities by freeing up vital spectrum airwaves
•Protecting workers’ pensions by placing the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation on a more solid financial foundation and protecting taxpayers from the cost of a massive bailout
•Restricting non-citizen access to food stamps and helping prevent illegal aliens from getting Medicaid
“Like every family in Northwest North Carolina, we need to make tough budget decisions and cut back on spending. This is not easy, but it is the right thing to do,” she said.
Rep. Foxx also expressed her disappointment with colleagues on the other side of the debate. “Even though members of the Minority complain about the deficit, they want to increase spending astronomically with no accountability measures in place. They have no plan to reduce the deficit. Their only answer is to raise taxes. At a time when we must be mindful of every hard-earned tax dollar we spend, the last we thing we need is more of the old ‘tax and spend’ mentality,” she said. “I am pleased we were able to win today’s victory for working families.”
