The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill

Despite ‘spending freeze,’ State of the Union proposals cost taxpayers $70 billion

by Demian Brady, senior policy analyst, National Taxpayers Union Foundation - 01/29/10 7:36 PM ET

All of these new spending initiatives were juxtaposed against a call for a budget spending freeze starting in the next fiscal year. The three-year freeze will exclude entitlements, national defense, and some foreign aid, which means that it will affect about 1/8th of the federal budget. White House officials estimate this will save $10 billion to $15 billion next year and $250 billion over the next decade, but we should wait for future budget releases to see whether the freeze is still in place before counting savings beyond the first year.

Given the level of new spending, it is unclear what impact the limited budget freeze will have on the federal deficit. But the President should be lauded for focusing attention on the government’s spending problem. Taxpayers will be watching to see how he — and Congress — follow through on efforts to tame the budget.

NTU Foundation’s complete analysis is available here.

Tags