Congress can begin to get control over the skyrocketing national debt through legislation that would cap discretionary spending, reform the budget process to make it binding and create a new standing committee on deficit reduction, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said.

“We can’t continue to ignore this problem and pass it along to future generations,” he said in a Wednesday conference call with reporters.

He also criticized mandatory PAYGO, saying since it went into effect earlier this year the Senate has approved in the neighborhood of $200 billion in new spending that is not being paid for or offset. Instead, PAYGO is waived when an emergency is declared.

“PAYGO is a joke in all intents and purposes,” Thune said.

While not including Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., because he said he doesn’t know what she has said about it, Thune charged that Democrats in Congress are looking for “political cover” when they talk about the benefits of PAYGO.

Asked about the issue, Herseth Sandlin said in a statement that it’s not about politics but about doing the right thing for the next generation.

“It’s clear we need all the tools we can get, because spending is out of control in Washington,” she said.

“Pay-as-you-go spending rules are part of what helped balance the budget in the 1990s, and they can be part of getting us back to balance once again,” she said.

Herseth Sandlin said she is ready to work with those in both parties who are serious about balancing the budget, cutting spending and decreasing the national debt.

The Deficit Reduction and Budget Reform Act of 2010 would create a standing joint committee, with 10 members each from the Senate and House, that would meet and offer legislation to reduce wasteful spending, Thune said.

Congress has 26 committees and subcommittees which spend money, but does not have a committee that looks for ways to save money, he said.

Such a committee was in place in the 1940s and worked for 30 years on spending reduction ideas.

The bill would also eliminate wasteful spending by establishing a cap on discretionary spending at the 2008 level except for inflation. The budget would have the force of law, with the president’s signature.

Also, Congress would pass two-year budgets under the legislation. It would pass a budget one year and during the election year it would conduct oversight of it.

Passage of the proposed bill depends on whether people recognize the country is in a crisis situation, Thune said.

“There has to be a sense of urgency here,” he said.

Thune noted that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff remarked recently that the biggest threat to the United States is not terrorist organizations but the federal debt.

“That is a staggering and really stunning statement coming from the top military official in this country,” he said.

With no opposition in his re-election bid this year, Thune was asked again about any presidential aspirations in 2012.

While it’s unusual not to have an opponent, he said it doesn’t change the way he represents South Dakota, and during the August recess he will be traveling around the state. But he also said he will have more time to devote to helping other Republican candidates, both in South Dakota and across the nation.

Whether Herseth Sandlin or her opponent, state Rep. Kristi Noem of Castlewood, wins the House race in November could be a key to which party controls that chamber, Thune said.

Although he is being encouraged to consider running for president in two years, Thune said his focus is reigning in out of control spending, paying down the national debt and helping Republican candidates get elected.

“I think anybody looking beyond the mid-term 2010 elections is missing the point,” he said. “There’s a lot on the line this fall and we need, in my view, to change the leadership of this country.”



For the complete article see the 07-29-2010 issue.

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