Issue Position: Spending and the Budget

Issue Position

Thad believes we must get spending under control, which is why he has repeatedly co-sponsored a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. Thad voted against President Obama's $838 billion stimulus bill, and supported the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, requiring the President to provide a detailed report for spending reductions. He supported the Budget Control Act of 2011, which resulted in the first significant reduction in discretionary spending in generations. He continues to oppose Obama bailouts, demonstrated by his support for legislation like the Obamacare Taxpayer Bailout Prevention Act. As a Member of the Appropriations Committee, Thad has used his position to stop auto-pilot spending on Obamacare and other harmful government spending programs. Thad has questioned the Obama Administration about its priorities and shed light on its agenda. Because Thad is an appropriator, he has rooted out more wasteful spending proposals than just about anyone else in Congress. Thad works to direct spending to job-creating projects, rather than allowing the Obama Administration to make those spending decisions with little oversight from the people's representatives in Congress.

A vast majority of our nation's runaway spending is occurring outside the appropriations process and is called "mandatory" or "entitlement" spending. Our massive entitlement programs are putting our country on a path toward bankruptcy and are growing faster than the economy. Entitlement programs comprise 55% of the federal budget and continue to balloon under an Obama Administration that consistently opposes structural entitlement reforms.

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