Congress Blows Off Passing a Budget Resolution

Without a budget, it is easier for Congress to continue on its reckless path of overspending

ARLINGTON, Va., April 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American people face a deadline on April 15th.  Taxes are due.  It's the law, and if you don't pay taxes on time you face a penalty.  Congress also has a deadline on April 15th.  Its budget is due, but Congress seems willing to shirk this duty.

"The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 specifies that Congress complete its annual budget resolution by April 15th. This budget resolution guides Congress's decisions about how much to spend, on what to spend, and allows members to raise objections to legislation that busts the budget. This is important stuff," said Gretchen Hamel, executive director of Public Notice.  "Yet, here we are two days away and Congress isn't even close to completing their budget resolution."

The American people should not allow Congress to be content to operate without a budget resolution.  The public deserves to see how much and where Congress plans to spend taxpayer dollars. Members of Congress should have to live within a specified budget – just like American families (who are cutting back, not spending more). 

"Congressional leaders claim to care about fiscal discipline and want to reduce the budget, but when it comes to fulfilling one of Congress's basic responsibilities—creating and passing a budget—they are all talk and no action," said Hamel.

The decisions Congress makes will have real consequences for taxpayers. This year's budget will cost taxpayers $3.8 trillion, the highest level of spending since WWII.  And that's just the beginning of the coming explosion of debt.  The Congressional Budget Office recently reported the national debt would grow by $9.7 trillion over the next decade if the President's budget becomes law.  That's $3.8 trillion more than if Washington simply continued with already-planned spending. 

Without a budget, it will be easier for Congress to lack discipline and continue on its reckless path of overspending.

Public Notice is an independent, bipartisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to providing the facts and insights on the affects public policy has on American's financial well being.

If you would like more information about Public Notice, or to schedule an interview with

Gretchen Hamel, please call Kate Pomeroy at 571-970-6497 or kate@thepublicnotice.org

SOURCE Public Notice