Coalition to Reduce Spending and FreedomWorks Lead Coalition Letter Opposing the "Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019," H.R. 3877

The Coalition to Reduce Spending and FreedomWorks, along with 12 other organizations, have released a coalition letter urging members of Congress to reject the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019,” H.R. 3877. The text of the letter follows, and the PDF can be found here.

Dear Members of Congress:

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, collectively representing the millions of Americans who are concerned about rising spending and debt, ask you to reject H.R. 3877, the so-called “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019.”

In early 2018, Congress busted the spending caps in H.R. 1892, another “Bipartisan Budget Act,” to the tune of $296 billion. With this proposed budget, Congress has handed the President a significantly worse deal, one that raises spending by $320 billion and makes a mockery of countless promises to balance the budget and rein in runaway spending.

With the national debt having crossed $22 trillion, major mandatory programs at the edge of insolvency, and discretionary spending more than doubling over a generation, this bill is a step in the wrong direction. Poll after poll shows that your voters expect you to take the debt seriously, and we stand ready to inform them if you do not.

Put simply, there is no excuse to support a package that busts the spending caps by $320 billion, costs nearly $2 trillion over ten years, kicks the debt limit down the road, and includes only $55 billion in offsets. As the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget notes, these offsets are even less than the amount of debt service payments this deal would create.

Virtually every member of Congress knows that America is on a perilous path. The budget deficit and debt that the federal government is running are unsustainable and will put our future prosperity at significant risk. Congress has stemmed the tide of spending increases before.

The fiscal victory of the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) was hard-won and significant, as Congress restrained itself for the first time in a generation. Sadly, in true bipartisan fashion, Congress has chipped away the BCA and, little by little, retreated from this victory.

Were this deal to pass, it would be the final nail in the coffin for the BCA and for the wider credibility of anyone who supports it.

On this issue, the feelings of the American people, budget experts, and fiscal watchdogs are neither secret nor ambiguous. You must reject this deal for the sake of this generation and the next.

Sincerely,

• Jonathan Bydlak, President, Coalition to Reduce Spending

• Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks

• Pete Sepp, President, National Taxpayers Union

• David McIntosh, President, Club for Growth

• Tim Chapman, Executive Director, Heritage Action

• David Bozell, President, ForAmerica

• Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action

• Brent Bozell, President, Media Research Center

• Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment

• David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance

• Norm Singleton, President, Campaign for Liberty

• Andrew F. Quinlan, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity

• Russ Latino, VP, Economic Opportunity Initiatives, Americans for Prosperity

• Cliff Maloney, President, Young Americans for Liberty