Senator Boxer: Cutting the Federal Budget Deficit   

Wednesday, September 1, 2010  

Dear Friend:

As I keep working to help pull California out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, my top priority has been to create jobs and get our economy moving again.

At the same time, we must begin attacking the federal budget deficit.  Though economic growth and job creation are the best tools to reduce the deficit, we must take additional steps to eliminate the long-term budget deficit and protect future generations from a staggering burden of debt.

We did it before, and we can do it again.  When President Bill Clinton and I first took office, the nation was suffering under a recession and a massive federal budget deficit.  Eight years later, we had created 23 million jobs and the biggest budget surplus in history: $236 billion. Unfortunately, the failed policies of the last administration left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit and an economy in shambles.

Here are some measures we could take right away to cut the federal deficit:

  • Adhere to “pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) rules requiring any new federal investments to be offset by corresponding budget cuts - I have voted for PAYGO rules eight times since 2003;
  • Cut $36.5 billion over the next ten years in tax breaks for oil and gas companies;
  • Cut $15 billion over ten years in tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas;
  • Cut $100 billion over ten years from the federal government’s travel budget, which rose by 75 percent during the Bush era;
  • Save $1.1 trillion over ten years by bringing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a close;
  • Cut $500 billion over ten years in wasteful payments made by the Federal government; and
  • Save hundreds of billions of dollars by allowing some of the Bush tax cuts to expire – even just those for millionaires.

In addition to these steps, I look forward to evaluating the recommendations of the bipartisan deficit reduction commission recently established by President Obama.  I have voted to establish a bipartisan deficit reduction commission whose recommendations would get fast-track authority for Congressional approval, and I am glad President Obama took the initiative to establish a commission.

Working together, I know we can put America on the road to a balanced budget and sustained economic growth.  We did it before.  We can do it again.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer, US Senator, California
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer