Dear Senators and Representatives,

On behalf of more than 1.8 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I urge you to oppose H.R. 3671, the so-called “megabus” appropriations bill. This bill fails to cut the necessary amount of spending when Congress should be shrinking the size and scope of the federal government.

I urge you to vote NO on H.R. 3671 or the related conference report, the so-called “megabus” appropriations bill. Americans for Prosperity will rate this vote in our congressional ratings.

Too Much Spending: This spring under the leadership of Chairman Paul Ryan, the House took a small step in the right direction and passed the only budget framework in Washington this year, calling for $30 billion in discretionary spending cuts for FY2012. Instead of sticking to that blueprint, this legislation only cuts $6 billion, a mere 0.65 percent, from last year’s levels – and that doesn’t even include the $8.1 billion of disaster relief funding tacked on in companion legislation. This falls far short of what is needed to rein in Washington’s out-of-control spending and huge deficits.

Bad Process: The federal budget process is badly broken. House Republicans promised change when they were returned to power in November 2010, but now we’re seeing the same tactics Democrats used in the past. Instead of considering each of the 12 appropriations bills in open debate before the American people, Congress packaged them all together in two giant “omnibus” bills negotiated behind closed doors. This is an open invitation to inflate the budget, against the will of the American people.

Important Checks Removed: It is important that Congress use the appropriations process as part of its oversight of the Executive Branch. That’s exactly what House appropriators did earlier this year, reining in out-of-control regulators in a number of important areas. While some of those provisions are still in H.R. 3671, others have been stripped out. In its current form the megabus does not stop the EPA from implementing its job-killing greenhouse gas regulations, it fails to prevent a panel of President Obama’s bureaucrats from taking health care cost decisions away from doctors and patients, and it fails to prohibit the FCC from regulating the Internet with so-called “net neutrality” regulations.

While AFP does recognize that this appropriations package is a spending reduction in these areas compared to last year and that it does contain several important policy changes, we do not find the bill up to the urgency of the crisis our federal budget currently faces.

I urge you to vote NO on H.R. 3671 or the related conference report, the so-called “megabus” appropriations bill. Americans for Prosperity will rate this vote in our congressional ratings.

Sincerely,

James Valvo
Director of Government Affairs
Americans for Prosperity

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