Bill would make deficit commission proposals law

Budget

Bill would make deficit commission proposals law

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) introduces legislation to cut the federal workforce by 10 percent and freeze federal pay for an additional year. The bill includes a host...

Federal News Network Staff

January 10, 2011 2:57 pm

2 min read

By Jason Miller
Executive Editor
Federal News Radio

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) wants to make into law several recommendations made by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, including reducing the federal workforce by 10 percent.

Brady estimates the bill, titled “Cut Unsustainable and Top-heavy Spending,” (H.R. 235) would save $153 billion.

“Both Republicans and Democrats on the deficit commission agreed these cuts need to be made, so let’s make a down payment on restoring our nation to a balanced budget and leaner government,” Brady said in a release.

Brady, the incoming vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, includes 25 recommendations from the commission and a host of other suggested cuts by both President Obama and former-President Bush.

One provision not included by either the commission or from the current or past White House would be to collect $3 billion in unpaid taxes from federal employees.

“In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service found nearly 100,000 civilian federal employees were delinquent on their federal income taxes, owing a total of $962 million in unpaid federal income taxes,” states a document on Brady’s site explaining the bill. “When considering retirees and military, more than 276,000 people owed $3 billion.”

Along with cutting the federal workforce by 10 percent, Brady wants to freeze civilian and Defense Department civilian employees’ pay for an additional year-total of three years instead of the two that went into effect in January-and cap federal travel and printing costs.

The bill also would reduces DoD procurement by 15 percent and rescind five percent of the Justice Department’s spending that the White House considers wasteful.

The bill was referred to several committees, including Appropriations, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Natural Resources, Oversight and Government Reform, House Administration, Education and the Workforce, Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, Science, Space, and Technology, Armed Services, Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce.