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The Power of the Purse

Our nation’s founders provided the American people with the ultimate tool to rein in the federal government including the executive branch by vesting the power of the purse with Congress. Article I, section 9, clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution states, “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”

Americans for Limited Government proposes that the following riders be included in Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bills in both the House and the Senate to be put on the President’s desk, focusing on targeted approaches to limiting the size and scope of the federal government.

Why it Matters

The national debt, now $22 trillion, grew by almost $1.5 trillion in 2018 as spending in Washington, D.C. continues to outpace the growth of the economy and revenues. Since 1980, the U.S. national debt has grown an average of 8.8 percent every fiscal year, but during that same period, the U.S. economy has only averaged 5.4 percent growth economic nominally before adjusting for inflation. As a result, the debt is now 105 percent of the economy. And if those trends were to continue, the debt will top $100 trillion in 2037, and exceed 193 percent debt to GDP.

Today, with an out of control administrative state, simply winning elections is not enough. It is up to Congress, starting with the House of Representatives, to take on the responsibility to choose which government initiatives large or small to fund and which not to fund, and what regulatory actions need to be stopped because they either have negative economic impacts or destroy individual freedom.

References

Latest News

ALG urges passage of Sen. Rubio’s Educational Opportunities Act October 18, 2019

ALG urges Congress to pass the No Funding for Sanctuary Campuses Act October 17, 2019

Trump keeps promise to cut regulations, make them more reasonable and less costly October 15, 2019

ALG urges passage of U.S. Rep. Gosar’s Higher Education Transparency Act of 2019 October 11, 2019

ALG applauds Sen. Grassley’s college financial aid transparency bill October 8, 2019

ALG shares Sen. Barrasso’s concerns about new biofuel mandates October 4, 2019

ALG applauds Sen. Hawley’s effort to protect taxpayers and hold colleges accountable October 4, 2019

Time to end Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, save $18 billion October 3, 2019

Will local governments still be allowed to make zoning decisions without federal coercion? September 19, 2019

ALG urges no corn cave September 19, 2019

ALG urges Congress to demand reform of the DC Metro September 17, 2019

ALG urges Congress to eliminate funding for the EPA’s Environmental Education Program September 17, 2019

Trump should hit organizers of migrant caravan with sanctions as border migration down 55 percent since May September 10, 2019

The federal government hoards so much land it doesn’t even know how much it has September 5, 2019

Stop left-wing groups from fleecing taxpayers with the Endangered Species Act August 20, 2019

Trump administration steps in to reform Endangered Species Act regs, but more work remains to be done to fix it August 14, 2019

Dear Congress, stop subsidizing wind like it’s 1999 and let the tax credit expire August 7, 2019

Cut off federal funding to the Soros-funded Tides Network August 4, 2019

Congress should defund federal government from coordinating with Southern Poverty Law Center July 29, 2019

Is the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development about to double down on the 2015 federal takeover of local zoning regulations? July 23, 2019

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