This week Congressional Republicans cut a deal with the White House to keep the current tax rates for at least two years, cut payroll taxes for one year, and reinstate the death tax. Whatever you think about the merits of this deal, one thing is crystal clear: Congress’ top priority next year must be to cut spending. It is important that conservatives continue to communicate that (1) Washington has a spending problem not a revenue problem and (2) that despite attacks from the left, conservatives do have clear, actionable plans for balancing the budget and reducing the national debt.
Over at The Heritage Foundation, our latest video highlights over $343 billion in specific spending cuts that can be tackled immediately. The cuts are focused on empowering state and local governments, consolidating or privatizing programs, and eliminating programs that have been proven to be ineffective.
But this is just the start.
The spending cuts highlighted by this video are a step in the right direction and should be pursued, but they are not nearly enough. We need Congress to make major changes–dramatically reversing course and returning the federal government to fiscal discipline. To that end, Heritage has identified over 128 specific policy points that the 112th Congress should immediately address.