Today, Americans for Tax Reform and its Cost of Government Center were joined by forty-one activists, scholars and thought leaders to urge Congress to create a Committee to Reduce Government Waste. In direct contrast to all other Congressional committees, this new body would be authorized only to cut spending. This committee existed for a brief period in the middle of the 20th century and was able to roll back some of new spending programs created under the New Deal. A similar effort could benefit taxpayers today.

Excerpted below is the letter sent today to Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), the lead Republican sponsors in Congress.

Your bill would create a Standing Committee that would focus solely on eliminating the redundancies and inefficiencies that add to the cost of government. While several committees exist today that encourage and promote new spending, this Committee would have the unique responsibility of decreasing outlays and finding savings. Tasked with this singular goal, the Committee could pave the way for significant spending reform.

The bickering over the past few months over a two percent cut in federal spending shows that fiscal restraint is hard to come by. Institutional changes, such as implementing a committee focused only on cutting spending, is the only way to ensure lasting reform for taxpayers.

Thus, we urge support of your bill to create the Committee to Reduce Government Waste, and look forward to working with you in the 113th Congress to promote fiscal responsibility.

To read the letter in its entirety, click here.

Posted by Mattie Duppler on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 10:17 AM EDT

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