DJOU SUPPORTS MEASURES TO COMBAT WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Washington, DC — Congressman Charles K. Djou (HI-01) has signed on to two measures that would help in the fight against wasteful government spending by allowing a line-item veto for the President of the United States. The bills are H.R. 5454, introduced by Congressman John Spratt (D-SC), the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, and H.R. 1294, introduced by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee.

“I met with constituents of Hawaii’s First Congressional District while I was home this past week,” Djou said. “From town hall meetings to business visits to encounters on the street, the number one concern that constituents expressed to me was the reckless and runaway federal spending in Washington.”

Djou continued: “Hawaii's families agree with me that government is simply spending too much money on programs that aren’t working and that government has no way to pay all the money back. They know that what we need are more private sector jobs, not more public sector programs.”

“Giving the President the power to target specific provisions of spending bills will promote the kind of fiscal restraint that the American people want and deserve. I’m proud to stand with my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, who recognize that the current spending in Congress is unsustainable. I will continue to work to move our government in the direction of fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Djou concluded.

H.R. 5454, the “Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010,” was introduced by Congressman Spratt on May 28, 2010 and has 20 Democrat co-sponsors. Congressman Djou is the first and only Republican co-sponsor. The bill would increase the power of policy makers to eliminate wasteful spending through a procedure known as expedited rescission.

H.R. 1294, the “Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act of 2009,” was introduced by Congressman Ryan on March 4, 2009, with companion legislation offered in the Senate by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The bill would create a line-item veto to target wasteful earmarks, improve congressional accountability, and deter lawmakers from inserting “frivolous spending into future bills.  The legislation would enable the president to single out egregious earmarks in bills that arrive on his desk for signature and send these specific items back to Congress for expedited votes on whether to rescind, or cancel, funding for these provisions.

Congressman Djou has long advocated for transparent and fiscally responsible government at both the state and local levels and continues to do so in a bipartisan manner at the federal level.

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