The Impact Of The Tax Cuts

On Monday, The Washington Times posted an article about a Congressional Budget Office report on April tax revenue.

The article reports:

The federal government took in a record tax haul in April en route to its biggest-ever monthly budget surplus, the Congressional Budget Office said, as a surging economy left Americans with more money in their paychecks — and this more to pay to Uncle Sam.

All told the government collected $515 billion and spent $297 billion, for a total monthly surplus of $218 billion. That swamped the previous monthly record of $190 billion, set in 2001.

CBO analysts were surprised by the surplus, which was some $40 billion more than they’d guessed at less than a month ago.

It will be interesting to see if the CBO changes its predictions on future deficits as tax revenues increase.

The article further states:

April is always a strong month for government finances, with taxpayers filing their returns for the previous year and settling up what they owe, even as expenditures often dip for the month.

But this year was particularly strong, with receipts jumping 13 percent compared to a year ago.

The news couldn’t come at a better time for President Trump and congressional Republicans, who were facing major questions about the damage last year’s tax-cut package might do to future deficits. Just a month ago the CBO projected that the deficit would quickly soar back to $1 trillion a year.

The deficit is a problem and will be a problem in the future. Hopefully the rescissions package that President Trump sent to Congress will pass (article here), and Congress will begin to trim the out-of-control spending it is accustomed to. Our future depends on it–we are not undertaxed–Congress is overspending.

This Week In Washington

One America News posted an article today about what is happening this week in Washington, D.C..

The article listed the following votes:

The House will vote Tuesday on whether to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guidance on auto-finance.

CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel will testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Lawmakers are set to vote Thursday on the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2018.

Republicans plan to continue their efforts to confirm at least six more of President Trump’s nominees for several key positions.

The article also notes that House Chaplain Patrick Conroy returns to work Monday. As noted in a previous article, President Trump will introduce his rescissions package to Congress tomorrow. Congress has 45 in-session days to respond to his request. The reaction to this request will tell the American people which Congressmen are actually fiscal conservatives and which are simply claiming to be fiscal conservatives in order to get elected.

This Is What Happens When A Businessman Is In Charge

President Trump is not a politician (although he obviously has a fairly quick learning curve). He is a businessman. We are about to see exactly what that means.

The Daily Signal posted an article today about President Trump’s request to Congress to cancel $15 billion in spending. First of all–I love the request. We will see what happens next.

The article reports:

“Tomorrow the president is going to be using his authority under the Impoundment Control Act to send up the largest rescissions package in history from a president,” a senior administration official said Monday evening on a conference call.

“This first package will be the first of several,” the senior official said. “It will be designed to go after unobligated balances, things that have not been spent and programs from prior years.”

Although the White House Office of Management and Budget does not seek to rescind spending in Congress’ recently passed $1.3 trillion omnibus bill, the official said, the administration will do that later.

The article noted that rescission on the most recently passed omnibus bill will come later.

The article explains how the process works:

To start the rescission process, a president must send a request or requests to Congress. Once he does so, the lawmakers have 45 in-session days to act.

Lawmakers introduce rescissions as legislation in both the House and Senate and refer them to a committee; if the committee doesn’t act in 25 days, the rescissions may be thrown out.

Debate is limited to two hours in the House and 10 hours in the Senate, the Conservative Partnership Institute notes in a report.

The process cannot be used to cut mandatory spending, including for entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and food stamps.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, said rescinded spending ought to reduce the deficit and pave the way for a bill to repair the nation’s infrastructure.

“I would like to see a commitment to say, everything that we save over and above this $11 billion will go 50 percent for debt reduction and 50 percent toward an infrastructure bill,” Davidson said before the number was finalized. “And I think that would be a great start to a infrastructure [bill] and a great way to make sure the president doesn’t have to sign another bill that is at the same level.”

All members of Congress need to understand that the massive spending bills that increase our debt are a national security risk. It is time that Congress began to take action to mitigate that risk.