(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today joined other fiscal conservative groups in urging the House of Representatives to support budget enforcement legislation.  The Family Budget Protection Act was re-introduced by Representatives Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), Chris Chocola (R-Ind.), and Christopher Cox (R-Calif.).  The members belong to the Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 100 House Republicans organized for the purpose of advancing a conservative economic agenda.

“The Family Budget Protection Act is the ‘Gold Standard’ for budget enforcement reform,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “With a record deficit approaching $427 billion for fiscal 2005 and Americans already over-taxed, it is time to get spending under control.  Now, more than ever, we need to add strong enforcement measures to the budget process.  The measures in this legislation, if adopted, will force Congress to rein in its insatiable spending habits.”

The Family Budget Protection Act contains several measures that are essential to bringing spending under control, including:

• Joint Budget Resolution: Convert the concurrent budget resolution into a joint budget resolution that is signed into law by the President;
• Simplifies the Budget:  Replaces the current 20 budget functions with spending levels for only five broad categories: mandatory, defense, non-defense discretionary, interest payments, and emergencies.
• Strengthens and Provides Point-of-Order Protection: Amends the rules of the House to ensure that a point-of-order can actually be raised against spending that violates budget or spending caps; requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in both the House and Senate to allow over-budget spending.
• Entitlement Cap: Limit growth in entitlement spending to the current inflationary adjustment for each program and population growth;
• Family Budget Protection Accounts: Allow Congress to target spending during the appropriations and direct spending processes and allow that spending to be redirected for deficit reduction; and,
• Enhanced Rescission: The rescission process would be enhanced so the President can propose the elimination of wasteful spending in appropriations bills and these proposals would be given expedited legislative consideration.

“We expected better fiscal stewardship from a Republican-controlled Congress, and frankly, we have been greatly disappointed.” Schatz concluded.  “Action is required – now.  Members of this Congress need to ask themselves what they want to be remembered for – allowing spending and the size of government to grow out-of-control or bringing back fiscal restraint and fixing the budget process.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.