The President rolled out his budget nearly two weeks ago. $3 trillion dollars. That’s Trillion with a T. After 5 years I’m still astounded at the numbers we deal with in Congress. Although, truth be told – all things considered it’s a good budget. The President put forth a budget that addresses the immediate and long term economic challenges that are currently facing our nation. To the credit of President Bush in the Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) budget he proposed, he addresses unsustainable government and brings the budget to balance by 2012 without raising taxes.

Administration officials have started the process of appearing before various committees to make their case for funding. They will make valid points, but tough decisions have to be made.

Despite what some may want to believe – we cannot have our guns and butter. We are a nation at war – cut backs must be made to ensure sufficient support for the war effort. In addition, we have to stop ignoring the enormous challenges of the future staring us in the face – Social Security, Medicare, our entire health care system, immigration reform, and energy independence just to name a few.

Too often Congress looks for a short term fix and while short term fixes are sometimes necessary, we need long term solutions.

I have a fundamental belief that a low tax rate is necessary for a strong economy, but unless we stop or at least slow growth – i.e. spending – by the federal government, we will continue to swim upstream without a paddle.

Increasing government by spending more money on new programs doesn’t strengthen the economy and it doesn’t mean we’ve solved a problem. Too often new programs – like existing ones, are proven to be wasteful with taxpayers’ dollars.

The President’s budget proposal puts a hold on spending on government entitlement programs- this is good news. The size of our economy needs to grow, not the size of our government. I have said for years that we should cap all discretionary spending at five percent less than current spending levels and then limit all future growth to the rate of inflation – for mandatory spending let’s reduce the baseline by five percent. It’s not a miracle cure, but it is a realistic common sense business solution to get a handle on our spending problem.

Still that alone is not enough. If there is one thing I’ve learned since becoming a member of the House Budget Committee it’s that folks use ‘emergency’ spending to get around the budget and appropriation process. The rules are different and we need to change them. No doubt emergencies happen. There has to be a way to get money to those in sudden need, without abusing the system and skirting the process. Let’s make sure the money we are designating as ‘emergency’ spending truly is – what’s wrong with requiring justification from a president if an ‘emergency’ spending request is submitted?

So I propose setting money aside in anticipation of emergencies – that’s what the average taxpayer does when budgeting. You can’t be prepared for everything, but you can anticipate and plan accordingly and I have not seen much of this in the past four years.

I have put this plan forward to Congress since being elected; however, it has been ignored. My plea again is to likeminded fiscally
conservative members who think the spending at the federal level is unsustainable.

Unfortunately, fiscal talk and budget talk can be complicated. It shouldn’t be…it really is as basic as keeping the burden on the
taxpayer low, and not spending more money than is being earned. A balanced budget can be achieved by 2012 if and when the federal government tightens control over government spending.

As long as Congress stops the spending spree and doesn’t raise taxes on American people for being married, having children, investing their money, and inheriting property, the economy will grow. We have had unprecedented economic growth for years and it is in large part a result of taxes being lowered – imagine if we cut spending as well.

For South Carolinians, a strong economy means more jobs. For your children and their grandchildren it means an affordable health care service that will be there for them – long into their golden years of their lives. It also means quality education, setting our kids up to succeed. It’s a chance for new opportunities, for those who have lost their jobs they may get educated training in a new field.

Boiled down – our future is in our hands. The question is how will we mold it? I am optimistic that if we get serious and tackle these issues today, the future will remain bright.

Congressman Gresham Barrett represents the Third Congressional District of South Carolina. Elected in 2002, he serves on the Budget Committee, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on International Relations and the Ethics Committee.

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This post is part of The Palmetto Scoop’s ongoing Sunday Guest Post Series where South Carolina’s leaders make weekly contributions about important political issues. Our thanks go out to Congressman Gresham Barrett and his staff for taking part.