Carly Fiorina Unveils Plan To Rein In Out-Of-Control Government Spending

September 27, 2010

Highlights Boxer’s Decades of Support for Irresponsible Government Expansion

SAN DIEGO, CA – During a town hall with students at the University of San Diego, U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina today discussed the importance of creating jobs and ensuring a stronger economy for future generations. She also unveiled her plan to rein in out-of-control government spending by implementing common-sense budget solutions that control spending, cut waste and restore accountability, strengthen transparency and reduce the debt.

“During her 28 years in Washington, Barbara Boxer has been a consistent vote for bigger government and more government spending of money taxpayers don’t have. This has resulted in trillion-dollar annual deficits and fiscally irresponsible borrowing that amounts to generational theft,” said Fiorina. “Our nation’s rising national debt and unsustainable federal deficit threaten long-term economic growth and job creation, and it jeopardizes the future of our students who will soon be entering the workforce and will have to pay the price of Washington’s fiscal irresponsibility.”

Fiorina’s plan is based on the principle that, in order to put Americans back to work, get small enterprises back in business and boost economic growth beyond just 2 or 3 percent, we must reduce the stress that record-high federal spending places on our economy. To do that, Fiorina proposes that Congress implement the following steps:

Control Spending

• Pass the Sessions/McCaskill spending cap bill, a modest but important step toward a spending freeze.
• Cap annual spending to the historical average of 20 percent of the economy.
• Freeze federal civilian workforce pay and hire just one civilian employee for every two who leave government service until the federal workforce returns to 2008 levels.

Cut Waste And Restore Accountability

• Review every government program as their authorizations expire to ensure only effective programs receive additional funding.
• Terminate ineffective programs that are unable to be reformed such that they have a positive impact.
• End earmarks and sweetheart deals and give the president the authority to line item veto any spending not in the national interest

Strengthen Transparency

• Put agency budgets and quarterly spending reports online, audit unspent funds annually and place an expiration date on all unobligated funds.
• Put bills online at least two weeks before they’re voted on and provide Americans access to all information about committee hearings, amendments and other official acts of Congress that members have.
• Evaluate the short- and long-term costs of every bill – including the impact on businesses – at least one week in advance of voting

Reduce the Debt

• Give taxpayers the opportunity to designate 0 to 10 percent of their federal tax liability towards debt reduction.
• Put unused stimulus money toward debt reduction, since the economic stimulus plan has failed to create the jobs Barbara Boxer promised.
• End taxpayers’ ownership stakes in Detroit, Wall Street, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the end of 2011.

“In order to get our economy moving again, Congress must make the tough decisions necessary to control spending, cut waste and restore accountability, strengthen transparency and reduce the debt,” Fiorina continued. “Barbara Boxer has shown time and time again that she is either unwilling or unable to make these tough choices and help get our economy back on track. Changing our government starts with changing the people we send to Washington, and that is why today I am asking for your support on November 2.”

To read Fiorina’s plan to reduce the federal deficit and lower federal debt, please click here.