Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today showed its support for the Republican Study Committee’s push for an American Taxpayer Bill of Rights at a press conference on Capitol Hill.  CAGW joined several other national taxpayer groups in praising the proposal.

The RSC plan has four pillars:
 

• Limit budget growth by doing more with less;

• Making it illegal for Congress to spend funds collected with Social Security taxes on programs other than Social Security; 
• Replacing the Internal Revenue Code with a tax system that is simple, fair, and consistent;
   
• Balancing the budget without raising taxes;

CAGW President Tom Schatz delivered the following statement:

The RSC plan presents a series of institutional safeguards against excessive spending and taxation.  Right now the budget process is tilted in favor of more government spending.  The RSC plan would balance the process by placing more hurdles in the way of the bi-partisan spending party.  In particular, the call for a balanced budget without tax hikes revitalizes the need for a constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment.

CAGW supports locking up payroll tax revenue so it is used solely for Social Security.  The impending retirement of the Baby Boomers will place a massive strain on the system; once funds are set aside solely for retirement purposes, members of Congress will not be able to siphon off the money and use it for wasteful programs.

As April 15 approaches, taxpayers will once again face the prospect of attempting to comply with an elaborate and unfair tax code.  It is time for politicians to ignore the entreaties of those who live off of the complexity and loopholes in the tax code, as well as those who seek pork-barrel projects, by simplifying both the tax code and the budget process.  The RSC plan offers taxpayers protection from the onslaught of special interests and the spending itch of politicians.

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.