The most effective way to end waste and rein in government spending is to have the U.S. Supreme Court declare the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public law 93-344) unconstitutional.
America’s public debt is currently $36.22 trillion. It was only $475 billion when the Congressional Budget Act became law in 1974.
The Congressional Budget Act created the current framework within which the Federal Budget is proposed, passed, and implemented. It placed Congress firmly in the driver’s seat and blocked future presidents from taking actions deemed constitutional and prudent for over 171 years.
When the Congressional Budget Act was enacted in 1974, real (inflation-adjusted) U.S. government debt per person was $3,240.
Today, U.S. government debt is $106,024 per person.
The struggle over government spending has been a fundamental point of contention since the earliest days of our federal government.
What happens if Congress creates programs that eventually become unnecessary or obsolete? What happens if Congress continues to authorize and appropriate funds for those programs?
What happens if Congress provides more funds than recommended by the executive branch or exceeds documented need?
President Thomas Jefferson was the first to test the boundaries of executive authority to second guess congressional spending. In the wake of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson reported that "the sum of $50,000 appropriated by Congress for providing gunboats remains unexpended. The favorable and peaceful turn of affairs on the Mississippi rendered an immediate execution of that law unnecessary. "
Following Jefferson’s precedent, subsequent presidents selectively withheld appropriated funds on programs that were no longer needed. They also asserted they were effectuating congressional intent not circumventing it.
The Depression and World War II provided opportunities for President Franklin Roosevelt to stretch budgetary discretion beyond Jefferson’s “economy” precedent. He moved funds away from what he deemed less important programs to more pressing programs.
Post-war demobilization gave President Harry S. Truman additional opportunities to hold back congressional spending. Truman impounded $735 million in additional funds appropriated by Congress to increase to 58 from 48 the president's request for Air Force groups.
Congress initially supported the president’s role in managing public funds. The Anti-Deficiency Act of 1905 provided that appropriations may "be so apportioned by monthly or other allotments as to prevent expenditures in one portion of the year, which may necessitate deficiency or additional appropriations to complete the service of the fiscal year for which said appropriations are made."
The Revised Anti-deficiency Act of 1906 stated: "Whenever it is determined ... that any amount so reserved will not be required to carry out the purposes of the appropriation concerned, he [the president] shall recommend the rescission of such amount ..."
The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1951, continued to expand presidential flexibility on managing and controlling spending: “In apportioning any appropriations, reserves may be established to provide for contingencies or to affect savings whenever savings are made possible through changes in requirements, greater efficiency of operations, or other developments subsequent to the date on which such appropriation was made.”
Recipients of federal funds began to challenge presidential control of spending. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, constricted presidential impoundment and other executive branch practices to control spending.
President Richard Nixon mounted a more aggressive and effective effort to rein in federal spending during his tenure. The Supreme Court pushed back, building legal precedents against presidential budget frugality.
Nixon continued to impound congressionally appropriated funds. Congressional Democrats, sensing the decline in presidential power in the wake of the mounting Watergate scandal, passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Nixon signed the law on July 12, 1974, one of his final major acts in office.
After extinguishing the president’s ability to control spending the federal budget more than tripled in just 10 years. From $269 billion in Fiscal 1974 to $851 in Fiscal 1984. Annual federal spending is now $6.5 trillion.
When the Republicans retook the House of Representatives after 40 years, Newt Gingrich tried to reassert the president’s role in budget management by proposing the line-item veto. This was a key part of his 1994 “Contract with America" It became a rallying cry for fiscal “hawks” from across the political spectrum.
The bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on April 9, 1996.
Budget “hawks” from both parties cheered, and President Clinton began using the line-item veto and budgets became balanced. The Supreme Court eventually declared the line-item veto unconstitutional. [Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998)]
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reveals daily evidence of how unbridled government spending wastes billions while lining the pockets of favored contractors and corrupt officials.
America is already barreling toward bankruptcy. Reestablishing the constitutionality of the president’s power to control spending is the only way to save us.
Scot Faulkner is the best-selling author of "Naked Emperors: The Failure of the Republican Revolution." He also served as the first chief administrative officer of the U.S. House, and was director of personnel for the Reagan campaign and went on to serve in the presidential transition team and on the White House staff. During the Reagan administration, he held executive positions at the FAA, the GSA, and the Peace Corps. Read Scot Faulker's reports — More Here
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