WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAU) — A Wisconsin Representative has introduced a bill that he says would give Congress back the power of the purse, as the Constitution intended.
Reid Ribble proposed the Power of the Purse Act to move funding around in a more flexible way, and would keep the total discretionary spending caps for fiscal years 2016 through 2021. Ribble says the bill would remove the existing 523 billion limit on the Pentagon and the 493 billion limit on domestic non-defense programs.
A GOP lawmaker is introducing legislation that would break down the firewall between spending for defense and non-defense domestic programs. “Benjamin Franklin said that a nation is best off when control of its money is handled by those who are the most immediate representatives of the people. In my bill, the Power of the Purse Act of 2015 simply allows us to do that. This chamber is called The People’s House.”
Ribble says, “By removing the arbitrary firewall that exists under the sequestration budget caps between defense and non-defense discretionary spending, we restore that control to Congress.” He says it is still crucial to continue to rein in federal spending and cut our deficits, but the people’s elected representatives must have the power to direct spending where it is needed most.Obama administration officials are opposed to changing the existing sequestration structure.
