Last week, President Obama announced a three year federal spending freeze for all “non-security discretionary” programs. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, expressed opposition to this decision. The MCC Washington Office, along with other organizations, endorsed a letter directed to Rep. Pelosi. Here is an excerpt:
We write to express our support and our appreciation for your opposition to a federal budget freeze that excludes even the consideration of defense spending. An initiative to rein in public expenditures without examining a bloated budget that takes up more than half of all federal discretionary spending is unwise and wrong.
We support cutting government spending that is wasteful, ineffective and duplicative wherever it may be found. However, a freeze in vital federal investment in our nation’s economy and people, particularly in the midst of a deep recession, is not in our national interest.
Budgets reflects values, priorities, and principles. It’s time for our nation’s budget to prioritize human needs and conserving creation rather than protecting and expanding an already bloated defense budget.
There were no real cuts of any kind in this budget. Every category, including social programs and welfare, remain dangerously bloated.