Congressman Mike Conaway - 11th District of Texas

Washington, Apr 22 -

Last night, U.S. Representative Mike Conaway (R-TX) introduced the Savings in Appropriations Act in the House of Representatives. This resolution amends the rules of the House to allow Members of Congress to offer budget reducing amendments to general appropriations bills and, in turn, will reduce the deficit or increase the surplus.

“Washington has a spending problem. As Members of Congress, it is our responsibility to evaluate the spending process and ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely – or not at all,” said Conaway. “If Congress considers a program or earmark in an appropriations bill unworthy of federal funding, those funds should not be spent and thereby used to reduce the deficit.”

Under current House Rules, Members of Congress cannot introduce an amendment to an appropriations bill with instructions to reduce funding for a program and redirect that funding to deficit reduction. Some Members of Congress are dissatisfied with the current process and are upset that successful efforts to eliminate funds for certain projects do not reduce the deficit, but result in that money being added for other programs. This legislation would give the Congress the flexibility to revisit decisions on the total amount of discretionary spending as each appropriations bill is debated on the House Floor.