Tom Reed continued to the fight to rein in out-of-control government spending today by discussing potential changes to the federal budget process. “We care about getting our 19 trillion dollar debt under control for the sake of our kids and grandkids,” said Reed. “Washington’s spending problem is really generational theft.  It’s not fair, or right, to allow this out-of-control spending to continue and we have to come together to solve this crisis.”

The move comes as the President unveiled his spending proposal earlier this month, which would increase spending by $2.5 trillion and raise taxes by $3.4 trillion over the next decade. Opponents argue that under the President’s proposal by 2022, the United States would spend more on interest payments on the national debt than it would on national defense.

House Republicans are expected to begin work on their own spending proposal later this week.

“We’ve heard time and time again, from every corner of our district, the growing concerns about the national debt,” said Reed. “Although we have made significant process to bringing our spending under control, we have to address the real drivers of our debt.  The real drivers are set by automatic spending formulas and poor administration, which ultimately account for two-thirds of all federal spending. We have to stop them before it’s too late.”

Reed continues to push for spending controls, citing efforts to reduce projected spending by nearly $172 billion dollars since 2014 when Republicans regained control of both chambers in Congress.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has indicated that he would like to resume “regular order” in the appropriations process, which would allow for the individual consideration of 13 appropriations bills for thoughtful debate and consideration, rather than the de facto method of large one omnibus spending package before the end of the fiscal year.

“Too often we see line items, pet projects and side deals stuck into a bill that must pass. There is no way to change the bill, no way to take out the provisions that are unsavory. That politics as usual mentality in Washington has got to come to an end.  It’s the only way we are going to get to the root causes of our spending problems.”

Congress and the President must come together to pass and enact a spending proposal before October.