I recently introduced legislation to cut government spending in order to offset the tens of billions of dollars being spent on hurricane relief in the Gulf Coast region.  Other members of the Senate Fiscal Watch Team – Senators Sam Brownback, Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, Lindsey Graham, John McCain and John Sununu – have joined me in this effort.

It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of tough decisions, but we have crafted legislation that we believe provides responsible and necessary cuts in government spending to offset the much-needed relief efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  We want to make sure those people who were affected by these catastrophic storms get the aid they need but that we make some sacrifices elsewhere so we don’t pass this enormous bill on to our children.

Some of the provisions of the bill, which could save the American taxpayers as much as $125 billion, include:

• A five percent across-the-board cut in discretionary spending for FY 2006 with the exception of national security provisions, with one percent exempted to provide funding for critical areas such as veterans’ health care.
• A freeze in the cost of living adjustments for federal employees.  This will apply to members of Congress but not to law enforcement personnel. 
• A 2-year delay in the implementation of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.
• A requirement that higher-income seniors pay higher Medicare Part B premiums.

Those who lost the most during the hurricane will not be helped by the government recklessly throwing taxpayer dollars at the region with no plan to offset the cost.  Our compassion and dedication to the people of the affected areas must be matched by a sense of responsibility to future generations and concern for the impact on our economy.