Dear Chairman Ryan,

On behalf of more than 1.9 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I applaud you for introducing a smart and serious budget blueprint for fiscal year 2013. Your budget tackles the fiscal crisis in Washington head on and offers our country a future of lower spending, lower taxes, and lower debt than what the President proposed in February.

For decades the size and scope of the federal government has grown without restraint, leading us into the mess of massive debts that we see today. As you have rightly pointed out, if we stay on our current path government spending will consume an ever larger share of our economy and the public debt will continue to climb rapidly to unconscionable and unsustainable levels. Such government excess will be a huge drag on our economy and the prospects of future generations.

In February the President proposed a budget that not only fails to address this problem, but it would actually make it worse. It increases spending. It imposes a $2 trillion tax hike on individuals, small businesses, and corporations. It adds over $6 trillion to our national debt. It ignores the widely recognized fiscal challenges in Medicare and federal welfare programs. And it doubles down on the health care takeover enacted in 2010 that imposes Washington’s will over Americans’ health care decisions and saddles the country with more debt.

Your budget represents a different vision for the future of this country. It cuts spending by $187 billion in the first year and by $5.3 trillion over ten years, compared to the President’s budget. Instead of raising taxes, it ushers in comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform that cuts and aligns individual and corporate tax rates and eliminates special handouts from the overly complex tax code. It introduces consumer choice and competition to put Medicare back on a sustainable fiscal path while preserving seniors’ control over their health care decisions. It empowers states by converting funding for federal welfare programs and Medicaid into block grants. And it repeals the President’s ugly health care law entirely.

AFP certain does not believe this budget is a perfect proposal nor does it include many reforms that are urgently needed. Death tax repeal should have been included to end the widely hated tax that raises very little revenue, discourages saving, and hurts family-owned farms and businesses. Replacing the haphazard automatic “sequestration” cuts with more focused cuts elsewhere in the budget is smart policy, but AFP would prefer to see those new cuts in the first year to avoid the threat that they may be undone by future Congresses. Additionally, we are disappointed that this proposal does not advocate for optional personal retirement accounts that would empower individuals and restore solvency to the broken federal program. It is also concerning that the country will still see budget deficits every year until 2040 under your proposal, even if those deficits are significantly smaller than what the President proposed.

Notwithstanding these concerns, your budget is a solid proposal and one that fiscal conservatives (and indeed all Americans) should get behind. Your budget shows the American people that we can get our nation’s fiscal house in order with smart, pro-growth policies – in stark contrast with our tax-and-spend President and irresponsible Harry-Reid-led Senate that has completely abdicated its responsibility to be involved the budget process.

Americans for Prosperity is proud to support your budget blueprint for fiscal year 2013. I urge your colleagues to support its passage and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

James Valvo
Director of Government Affairs
Americans for Prosperity

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.