The appropriations process is one of Congress’s most important responsibilities, but many both inside and outside the Beltway misunderstand it. The recent controversies surrounding the work of the Appropriations committee has compounded the confusion over what we do.

The United States’s first treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, and other Founding Fathers worked hard to protect America’s taxpaying public from the gluttonous appetite of its growing government. Article I, Section 9 of our Constitution states, “No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”

Today, a vast array of federal government programs is funded through 12 different subcommittees. Approximately one-half of the money appropriated goes to fund our national defense, while all the other subcommittees fight to secure what they deem to be “their fair share” of the remaining pie.

In the modern age, “the pie” is significantly shaped by the president’s budget, which has been used to establish a top-dollar amount for the annual budget (colloquially known as 302a). The 302a is divided between the twelve appropriations subcommittees. Each designated amount becomes that subcommittee’s 302b. These allocations often are increased with supplemental funding during the fiscal year. The current war in Iraq for example, calls for a very significant supplement each year. These supplemental bills have made completing annual appropriations bills on time more difficult, and have significantly increased the food fight between the subcommittees.

While the Constitution clearly states the Congress’s role in appropriations, nowhere in that sacred document can one find reference to a president’s budget. Yet, the vast majority of appropriations work each year focuses upon the president’s budget, which reflects the budget wishes of the various agencies of the federal government.

Federal workers within governmental agencies have the best understanding of their ongoing needs. But their solutions don’t always reflect the most efficient use of the American taxpayer’s dollars, and their focus is on the agency’s priorities, not the nation’s. It is Congress’s responsibility to make these larger judgments, as the Constitution makes clear.

Most of the committees in Congress share the responsibility for implementing and providing oversight for programs and policies Congress has put in place. But only the Appropriations Committee is required every year to assess our overall national needs, and determine if each agency is spending its money wisely and efficiently. During my tenure as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the committee conducted 244 oversight hearings. So far this year, the committee has conducted 216 hearings on the president’s budget.

We made significant efforts toward reforming our appropriations process in the past few years. Like many, I am concerned that for too long Congress has believed that every federal problem is best solved by throwing money at it. Today, America has a multi-trillion dollar debt. While our country has the strongest economy in the world, deficit spending will undermine our economy and destroy our future.

Our national debt will not just go away. Balanced budgets over a number of years will help a lot. But that will happen only if the Congress reduces the rate of growth of all spending. We must commit ourselves to reduced spending across the board to save our economy.

If the public wants to cut our bloated government spending, they certainly did not buy it in the last election. The leadership of this Congress has so far demonstrated that the preferred solution is to take more money from the taxpayer. A few suggest that the real problem is pork barrel spending, but this is difficult to sell when earmarks represent only about one percent of all discretionary spending. Furthermore, earmarks do not add to spending; they merely redirect it. Eliminating earmarks just allows that money to be spent by the non-elected bureaucrats.

This conservative appropriator believes deeply that the Appropriations Committee must do its part in reducing spending. It is the number-one responsibility of appropriators in the years ahead. It is not good enough to simply wish away these deficits. We cannot continue to create new programs for every difficulty we face.

Let us join hands with our Founding Fathers and eliminate the inordinate impact of the tyrant — spending — upon our way of life. In this time of war and economic challenges, all must make sacrifices. But the American taxpayer has limits. We must not ask him or her to shoulder the burden of our unchecked government spending. It is time to join together and say, “Enough is enough.”

Lewis is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Oil and water do mix
The president and congressional Republicans need to reach across the aisle for the good of the country
Defense spending bill aims toward fiscal responsibility
Appropriators should restrain federal spending, not expand it