CAGW Reacts to Ryan Budget
"Path to Prosperity" vs. Path to Bankruptcy

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) expressed its support for House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget Resolution, titled Path to Prosperity.  Rep. Ryan’s bold plan would cut $6.2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade compared to President Obama’s budget, which keeps the nation on the path to bankruptcy.  It would not raise taxes, and would cut the deficit to under $1 trillion in FY 2012 and eliminate it entirely by 2040. 

“Chairman Ryan has put together a rigorous proposal aimed at eliminating wasteful spending and reducing the deficit,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.  “This budget is essential to saving the nation from a dismal fiscal future.  It includes capping non-defense discretionary spending at pre-stimulus levels, repealing Obamacare, cutting corporate taxes, trimming the federal workforce, reducing farm payments, and eliminating federal funding for high-speed rail.  Each of these proposals has been championed by CCAGW in the past and would constitute important victories for taxpayers in their own right. 

“The budget stands in stark contrast not only to President Obama’s failure to protect the nation from going broke but also to the failure by congressional Democrats last year to produce and pass a budget.  While Chairman Ryan would adopt Defense Secretary Gates’ plan to reduce defense spending, much more could be done to eliminate waste at the Pentagon. 

“The budget proposals are a dramatic step toward eliminating wasteful spending and getting deficits under control.  While CCAGW would support even deeper spending cuts, we encourage every member of Congress to adopt Chairman Ryan’s plan and reject any budget that does less to move the nation toward prosperity and away from bankruptcy.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) 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.