A GOP Game Plan: Get Federal Spending Under Control

To start, Republicans should reach out to President Biden. It may sound like odd advice, but it is a necessary first step. Mr. Biden has an important choice to make: Will he follow in the steps of

Bill Clinton

or

Barack Obama

? His choice will make a great deal of difference—not as to what must be done, but how to do it. Mr. Biden can be a partner, or he can fight the policy changes needed to rescue America.

The work begins this week. Voters will head to the polls, and Congress will reconvene to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government. Republicans shouldn’t play any games. Vote on whether to add funds for things such as hurricane relief and aid to Ukraine, and then extend government spending until March 3. Then head home.

When the new Congress convenes, the Republicans’ focus should be on appropriations. On Jan. 3 they must begin work on passing a second budget and reconciliation bill for fiscal 2023, in addition to 12 individual appropriations bills, one for each subcommittee. The May 2022 Congressional Budget Office report notes that “as a result of the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, nonemergency discretionary funding for this year is $56 billion more than it was in CBO’s July 2021 projections.” The CBO also “raised its projections of outlays for the entire 2022–2031 period by $627 billion—$208 billion for defense and $419 billion for nondefense activities.” Congress must examine this spending in detail and make significant cuts.

Also on the to-do list should be ending the emergency declaration for Covid. That shouldn’t be too difficult. Mr. Biden said in a September interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that “the pandemic is over.” In the second fiscal 2023 reconciliation bill, Congress must remove all pandemic emergency spending in the out years from the budget baseline. It should also rescind all unspent non-Covid funds from the American Recovery Act. Passing 12 separate appropriation bills with these reduced baselines will save hundreds of billions in higher out-year spending, which will protect America from further inflation. Congress must aim to get legislation implementing these cuts on the president’s desk by March 30.

In April, when Congress returns from its spring recess, work must begin on the fiscal 2024 budget and reconciliation package. The focus should be to continue to reduce the growth of federal spending and begin to restore economic growth through tax cuts. This ought to include extending the provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act whose expiration would raise tax rates for all taxpayers, lower the standard deduction and reduce the child tax credit.

The fiscal 2024 budget should pass by the end of April, followed by the reconciliation bill before Memorial Day. That will leave Congress ready to begin voting on fiscal 2024 appropriations bills the week of June 5. From that day until the beginning of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, every waking moment should be spent passing the 12 appropriations bills. Start with the Defense Department appropriations, which must be beefed up to meet the challenges posed by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Neither the House nor the Senate should plan for an August recess unless each appropriation is signed. Anything less is an abdication of constitutional responsibility.

Sen.

Robert C. Byrd

often scolded his colleagues that their job is to write appropriations bills and then negotiate with the White House after Congress finishes its work. The president has the power to veto the bills if he wishes. If he would like to shut down the government by vetoing the bills, that is his prerogative. Congress can then pass new bills until an agreement is reached on the 12 separate appropriations. That should be the priority of both Congress and the administration for as long as it takes.

Some Republicans will doubtless object to this plan. A certain self-righteous attitude has taken hold in quarters of the GOP. Some Republicans have become comfortable voting against any and all appropriations bills. Their decision is understandable but ultimately unjustified. While the federal government is spending far too much money, voting against all appropriations bills obviously hasn’t solved the problem. The most powerful check Congress has over the executive branch is the power of the purse. Yet with each year it fails to pass appropriations, it cedes that vital tool to the president.

Stopping more inflationary spending will require Congress to restore the balance of power with the executive branch. Recovering the power of the purse by legislating appropriations bills—even if it takes all year—is what might be necessary and therefore what Congress must do.

Mr. Hoppe served as chief of staff to House Speaker