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From: Arapahoe Public Mirror
Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson’s plan to significantly cut spending for Congress and agencies on Capitol Hill was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and now will be considered by the full Senate.
As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee, Nelson wrote the bipartisan Legislative Branch Appropriations bill with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who is the ranking member on the subcommittee. The bill cuts spending 5.2 percent below the previous year, saving more than $200 million.
“With our economy still in trouble and spending in Washington still much too high, Congress needs to lead by example and cut its own budget,” said Senator Nelson. “Working with ranking member Senator Hoeven, we’ve crafted a bipartisan bill that cuts spending by 5.2 percent below this year’s level.
“These cuts are strategic and sensible. But make no mistake, they are real and will force Congress and the agencies on Capitol Hill to live with less. As Congress works to bring down federal spending, bring down the debt and balance the federal budget, Congress must tighten its own belt,” Nelson added.
“As I’ve said several times this year, our motto…to paraphrase Harry Truman…is `The Buck Shrinks Here.’”
Since he became chairman several years ago, Nelson first reduced Legislative Branch spending, then held it flat, then cut the Senate’s budget and now is cutting spending across Capitol Hill by 5.2 percent. The 2012 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill cuts the budgets for senators’ offices, the Capitol Police, the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office, the Architect of the Capitol, and other Capitol Hill offices.
“I believe that the example we offer can be a model for how all of Washington can cut spending across the entire federal government,” said Nelson.
In March this year, the Senate overwhelmingly approved Sen. Nelson’s Sense of the Senate resolution calling for the Senate to cut its budget by at least 5 percent. The resolution noted that Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the greatest threat to America’s security is not terrorism but its national debt.
“My hope is that this will serve as a clear example of how Washington can get off its spending binge and get onto its much-needed cutting diet,” said Nelson.
The Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the following budgets:
- Architect of the Capitol
- Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
- Botanic Garden
- Capitol Police
- Congressional Budget Office
- Congressional Research Service (Library of Congress)
- Government Accountability Office
- Government Printing Office
- The House of Representatives
- John C. Stennis Center for Public Service, Training, and Development
- Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
- Joint Economic Committee
- Joint Committee on Printing
- Joint Committee on Taxation
- Library of Congress
- Office of Compliance
- Open World Leadership Program
- The Senate
The Senate Legislative Branch Subcommittee bill allocates $4.307 billion for Fiscal Year 2012 Legislative Branch spending. This is $237 million (5.2 percent) below the FY 2011 enacted level of $4.544 billion, and $555 million (11.4%) below the FY 2012 budget request level of $4.862 billion. The allocation is $7 million below the House allocation of $4.314 billion.
Spending for every major agency, including the Capitol Police, is reduced. The reductions range from 2.6 percent less for the Capitol Police to 12.4 percent less for the Government Printing Office.
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