Taxpayer Association Calls for Accountability in Federal Budget Process
The Brown County Taxpayers Association has called for legislation to impose accountability in the federal budget process. Citing renewed threats of yet another federal government “shutdown”, BCTA President Rich Heidel said “This nonsense has gone on long enough. Congress legislated a budget setting process over fifty years ago and simply continues to disregard it.”
“The law requires Congress and the President to complete a budget by October 1 st for the succeeding calendar year. And year after year they disregard the law, resulting in continued deficit spending and a national debt now exceeding 38 trillion dollars”, Heidel said. “The people chosen to be stewards of our government are ignoring their duties and leading our nation down a path to financial ruin.”
“We have contacted our Congressman and U.S. Senators asking for legislation which would impose these three things:
1) Whenever the government is “shutdown,” (budget process not completed by October 1st and no Continuing Resolution), Congress, the President, and their assigned staff are not paid. Their pay and benefits during a shutdown are lost to them forever.
2) Whenever the government is “shutdown”, tax collections don’t have to be sent to the IRS. Taxes are still collected, but they may be held back and interest earned on them by the business entities involved. Once the shutdown is over (budget process completed or a Continuing Resolution passed), tax collections that were held back must be submitted within a month.
3) When the government is operating under a Continuing Resolution (budget process not completed by October 1st but with a CR in place), Congress, the President, and their assigned staff are not paid. Back pay and benefits are restored to them once the budget process for the fiscal year is completed.
We asked Congressman Wied and Senators Baldwin and Johnson to advise us of their viewpoints on this matter and look forward to further engagement with them.
Members of the House and Senate need to have consequences administered when they fail in their duties, and this would put those consequences in place.”
