From his perch on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw looked to reduce the size and scope of the federal government this week by trimming some fat from Congress itself.
Crenshaw, a former president of the Florida Senate who has represented parts of the First Coast and the northern part of the state since first being elected to Congress back in 2000, used his position as chairman of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee to cut congressional expenses.
Speaking to the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Crenshaw presented his subcommittees proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year. The committee passed the proposal, which stood 9 percent lower than last year's version.
This bill funds operations of the House, the Capitol police, national treasures such as the Library of Congress, as well as the maintenance of the historic buildings we meet in and the agencies that support Congress, said Crenshaw as he introduced the subcommittees proposal. While the legislative branch appropriations bill is the smallest of the annual Appropriations bills -- less than one-half of 1 percent of all spending -- it presents a unique set of challenges and concerns, particularly in these tough economic times.
Crenshaw noted that his proposal would slash 6.4 percent of the costs from congressional offices, including individual congressional, committee and leadership offices.
Simply put, Congress has to work more efficiently and effectively with what we have, insisted Crenshaw. To those who may disagree with what we present here, let me underscore that the subcommittee has looked at the facts, established priorities, and set spending levels that will allow agencies to work safely and ably.
The Florida Republican, who is the son-in-law of former Gov. Claude Kirk, pointed to his record wielding the gavel on the subcommittee. The proposed budget that Crenshaw championed stood at $3.3 billion, which is more than $225 million lower than where it stood last year.
Since I assumed the chair of this subcommittee in January of this year, we have cut spending in this title by 9 percent from FY10 spending levels, returning this subcommittees spending levels to $111 million below FY09 levels, said Crenshaw. This marks the largest-ever, two-year reduction for this title, $329 million in total.
Crenshaws proposal cut almost $85 million from the U.S. Houses internal budget, a reduction of 6.5 percent from last year, while keeping the Capital police budget at the same level. In his presentation to the full Appropriations Committee, Crenshaw said that the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was one of the reasons for keeping Capitol police funding in place.
The proposal also makes cuts from last years budget on other agencies under the subcommittees jurisdiction, reducing the Architect of the Capitols funding by 7 percent, the budgets of both the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office by 6.4 percent, and reducing 8 percent from the Library of Congress. The Government Printing Office saw even more reductions, its budget lowered by 16.3 percent under Crenshaws proposal.
I would like to emphasize the fact that the American public has asked us to do more with less, and subsequently we have asked these agencies to do more with less, said Crenshaw. Members and staff should be advised that the cuts we are making will impact member services, which they utilize on a daily basis.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
