The Rescission Bill Reveals How Difficult It Is To Get Congress To Make Even Tiny Spending Cuts
At some point on Wednesday evening, the Senate is likely to approve a bill trimming the federal budget by about $9 billion—though the exact total could change as amendments are offered on the Senate floor.
On one hand, this is a laudable and semi-significant effort at cutting the cost of government. If the rescission bill ultimately makes it through Congress and President Donald Trump signs it, then Republicans will turn all the drama surrounding Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) into a meaningful, if small, reduction in federal spending.
On the other hand, the bill should be proof that “owning the libs” is not an effective strategy for balancing the budget or imposing fiscal responsibility.
The rescission bill contains a bunch of prime cuts of red meat hand-selected by the Trump administration. Foreign aid and public broadcasting are the main things on the chopping block. It’s meant to be the most palatable set of cuts for the GOP’s political base—and it serves to underscore how limited that approach actually is, in the context of the massive federal budget and expanding budget deficit.
And, yes, of course, you have to start cutting somewhere. It’s possible that anything
Article from Reason.com
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