Letter from Dan Lungren - Shutdown and Other Costs of Indecision

Earlier this week, the House passed another short-term continuing resolution (CR) that will prevent a government shutdown on March 18 (to learn more about the events that brought us to this point, read further here).  It will only fund the government for three weeks, but it will result in a reduction in federal government spending of $6 billion.  At the end of those three weeks, Congress will have to pass another CR or face a shutdown again.  Also three weeks from now, the House Budget Committee will have released its 2012 budget (read about the budget priorities articulated by Chairman Paul Ryan here). 
Some in the House and Senate – as well as many of you (see the survey results from last week’s e-newsletter here) – are tired of temporary cuts and want a more permanent solution.  If the Senate refuses to pass the House’s CR for 2011, we would probably experience a government shutdown rather than continue operating off of short-term CRs even with reduced spending levels. 
Did you know?
The deficit for the month
of February 2011 – just 28 days – was more than the whole nation’s deficit
for the entire year of
2007, at $223 billion.
We cannot continue to pass short-term CRs that must be revisited every few weeks; we need to establish some certainty for the future.  Soon, the House will take up consideration of the 2012 budget – with further spending reductions and a projection of its impact over the next 10 years.  This will be the real heavy lifting, where we can start to make more sizable and steady progress toward fiscal responsibility.  For this to happen, the President and the Senate must come to the table so that we do not have to keep repeating the same debate every two or three weeks about short-term funding.  The Senate and President need to work with us so that we can have a thorough and analytical discussion of substantial spending reductions and reforms that will bring both short- and long-term spending under control in the 2012 budget.  Only if we do this will we be able to free up the private sector to create the millions of jobs that we so urgently need.
I will continue the fight for getting our spending under control and I will support any and all available steps toward fiscal responsibility.  Each step gets us nearer to effective and efficient government.  We have made positive first steps to lead by example: starting with a five percent reduction of our own budget, another reduction in the two week CR, and further savings in the new three week CR – through which we have realized $10 billion in savings.  The House has also passed many more reductions that have stalled in the Senate, but they will gain momentum as Washington begins to exercise its spending restraint muscles for the first time in many years.
Now that we have passed two short term CRs, the Senate and President have been given ample time to offer a credible, long-term plan to cut spending.  After five weeks of stop gap funding measures, it is imperative that we pass a long-term solution.  It is time for the Senate and President to work with us in offering a plan to the American people so that we as a nation can move forward to the brighter days ahead.
Sincerely,
Daniel E. Lungren
Member of Congress