Heads up – this is long, but we want you to fully understand the implications of this strategic fight…
Congress faced a test this month: they determined how to fund the government beyond the end of the fiscal year. How they handled this revealed that too many lawmakers are more interested in campaigning back home than addressing our nation’s serious fiscal problems.
Disappointingly, lawmakers are poised to consider legislation that only funds the government through the middle of lame duck session, when they’ll have to consider another spending bill. This is a dangerous time for supporters of limited government like you and me.
Here’s two reasons the lame-duck option is bad for you: At least 44 members of Congress will be retired or fired and many of them will be hired as lobbyists. They’ll be tempted during the lame-duck session to throw one last bone to their future K Street colleagues before they leave the legislature.
The last thing taxpayers deserve is another lame-duck Congress where unaccountable lawmakers ratchet-up spending and cement pet projects for corporate special interests.
There’s another strategic element to this. Without getting too into the weeds, there are tax provisions and spending items that are set to expire. If they expire it will lay the groundwork for comprehensive, long-term tax reform. If they are extended during a lame-duck session, then it makes the prospect of comprehensive reform very unlikely in the near future. In other words: this is our chance.
But as you can guess, many in Congress are thinking more about votes in November than they are about fiscal responsibility in 2017 and beyond. That’s why we are leading the charge to make them care about this issue . We’ve seen this fight coming and have been preparing for this battle for much of the year.
A trillion in spending should be negotiated by elected officials who will answer to voters.
We’re also working in Washington to make sure the Congressmen and their staffs are clear about the implications of allowing a spending package to come up in the lame-duck session.
This has been a monumental effort and I’m proud of the work the AFP team has done–with your help–to hold lawmakers accountable and create real change in Washington. But we need the resources to be able to fund the fight.
This is a strategic initiative that will have ripple effects for years to come! If there’s any way please help fund the work that AFP is coordinating around the country and in Washington. Our field staff is working relentlessly to make sure your tax dollars aren’t used for wasteful spending.
Please continue to support AFP so we can continue to hold our lawmakers accountable to do what’s best for the people they serve.
Thanks,
Luke Hilgemann, CEO
Americans for Prosperity
