ATR & CFA Urge Support of Coburn Amendment to Tax Bill

Today, Americans for Tax Reform and its Center for Fiscal Accountability urged Senators to support Senator Coburn's amendment to the tax hike prevention bill that would pay for the spending in the bill by rescinding and eliminating spending elsewhere in the federal budget. While ATR and CFA remain opposed to the inclusion of new spending in the bill, given the current political climate it is wise policy to offset the unemployment extension with other reductions in spending. From our alert:

While ATR and CFA remain opposed to the underlying spending in the bill, we fully support the notion that new spending obligations be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the federal ledger. A vote for the Coburn amendments shows Senators are serious about getting the federal government’s fiscal house in order by focusing on spending cuts rather than tax hikes to sustain government spending.

ATR and CFA recommend that the savings netted from the Coburn amendments not be spent to buoy further government profligacy. However, if passage of the tax package is predicated on the inclusion of unemployment spending, we prefer that the spending be offset with other federal rescissions. Moving into the new Congress, the Senate should illustrate a commitment to prudence by adopting Senator Coburn’s amendment.

[PDF]