Congressional Budget Office

“ Congress now has more time to complete its work on its annual spending bills. Earlier this year congressional leaders promised to show that they could be responsible with the people's money. Unfortunately they seem to have chosen the path of higher spending. They have proposed spending increases that would add an extra $205 billion on top of my Administration's budget request over the next five years. There's only one way to pay for such a large spending increase, and that is to raise taxes on the American people. ”

“ Our own budget may be more readily followed through all the vicissitudes of committee scrutiny, and all the varied fortunes of committee action, after one has traced some other budget through the simpler processes of some other system of government. ”

“ If the government restricts emissions by imposing a tax, it will receive the scarcity rent as tax revenues. By contrast, if it imposes a permit system and gives the permits away, the permits’ recipients will receive the scarcity rents as higher profits—because they can either charge higher prices for the fuel they sell or sell the permit. The income received as tax revenue or scarcity rents can be many times larger than the net efficiency loss. ”

“ Having with such aids made up his budget, the Chancellor goes before the Committee of Ways and Means prepared to give a clear history of the financial administration of the year just closed, and to submit definite plans for adjusting the taxation and providing for the expected outlays of the year just opening. The precedents of a wise policy of long standing forbid his proposing to raise any greater revenue than is absolutely necessary for the support of the government and the maintenance of the public credit. ”

“ I cannot help but observe that while the White House staff and the Executive Office of the President have been reduced and the total number of civilians in the executive branch contained during the 1970's, the legislative branch has increased substantially although the membership of the Congress remains at 535. Congress now costs the taxpayers more than a million dollars per Member; the whole legislative budget has passed the billion dollar mark. ”

“ If Congress is serious about getting back down to work, serious about promoting our nation's economic growth, then Congress should pass a responsible budget that is credible and enforceable. The time has come to enact a line-item veto and a balanced budget amendment. ”