WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump this week thanking him for his proposal to cut spending by 5% across all federal agencies.

“The federal government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “Our federal deficit is astronomically high at $779 billion the past fiscal year.  Congress has lived off the taxpayer’s credit card for far too long, and the only things that have grown are the debt, the federal bureaucracy, and the appetite for more spending.  The President’s initiative to cut federal agency spending is a good first step towards helping get our federal budget back under control.”

October 18, 2018

 

 

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington, D.C. 20500

 

Dear President Trump,

 

I want to personally thank you for your strong leadership to save American taxpayer dollars by cutting federal spending across all agencies by 5%.  This is precisely the type of commonsense spending reform that America desperately needs and expects from its leaders. The Congressional Budget Office reports that the $21 trillion national debt is and will continue to slow the growth of productivity and wages, doing considerable harm to our economy in the process.  I am proud to see the Trump Administration taking historic action to put America’s fiscal house in order, and I remain fully supportive of those efforts. 

 

I have recently taken action in the Senate to tackle Washington’s spending problem.  Earlier this year, I supported your proposal to reign in federal agencies by imposing a pay freeze on federal bureaucrats.  I also advocated for a simple 1% spending haircut across federal agencies that, despite being only a drop in the fiscal bucket, would have been an improvement over out of control spending. However, the Washington swamp runs deep as you well know, and Congress couldn’t even agree on these basic reforms.

 

I recognize that making these types of cuts may not be easy for some within the Administration, but I know how necessary they are for the health of our economy. I firmly believe that all three levels of government have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Your new 5% directive is a good start to fixing those problems. Please know that you have my enthusiastic support. Thank you for your service to America.

 

                                                                                                Sincerely,

 

 

 

                                                                                                John Kennedy

                                                                                                United States Senator

 

 

 

 

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