Republicans must not cave on spending caps

The power of the purse is arguably Congress’ most important responsibility. The framers of the Constitution understood that the legislature needed to serve as a check on executive authority, and there is no more effective way to restrain the growth of government than the ability to withhold money from projects that don’t deserve it. 

Congress would do well to remember this in the spending fight set to come at the end of September. Say what you will about the Democrats, but they have been very clear on what they want and expect of the budget process; namely, more spending. President Obama, along with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), has even gone so far as to threaten a government shutdown if Congress does not acquiesce to his demands, and break the budget caps established in 2011 under the Budget Control Act. 

{mosads}The ultimatum leaves no room for ambiguity: Break the caps, or Obama will veto the bill. 

In the face of such unreasonable intransigence, Republicans — who control both Houses of Congress — have an opportunity to stand up and fight for limited government and fiscal responsibility. You know, all those things they said they believed in, back on the campaign trail a year ago. Instead, in a staggering display of cowardice and ineptitude, Republican leadership immediately conceded the high ground by publicly admitting their plans to cave in to whatever the president asks for. 

What is it going to take to get congressional Republicans to do the right thing here? Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is very openly risking his speakership in service of — what, exactly? 

There will be those who say that the spending caps are not a big deal, that they have accomplished little, and that they are not worth protecting. In fact, they are the only meaningful spending restraints we have seen since the midterm elections of 2010, when Republican picked up 63 seats in the House on the strength of America’s righteous anger over out-of-control spending and bailouts for big business. 

If ever there was a referendum, that was it. Thanks to the spending caps, government is growing more slowly than before. It may not be much, but it’s an important start, and now we are in danger of throwing those gains away, simply because the president is being inflexible. 

Government spending is something that tends to get lost in the sex-drugs-and-rock ‘n’ roll focus of the 24-hour news cycle. It’s always there, lurking in the background, but it isn’t interesting and doesn’t make for good headlines. What’s more, spending can seem like an abstract concept with little relation to people’s day-to-day lives. Numbers containing 12 zeroes are scarcely comprehensible to any normal human. But this is the issue that more than any other threatens the future of our country and our children’s future. 

Every day, the interest on the national debt consumes more and more of our budget. Within eight years, we will be spending more on interest on that debt than we do on national defense. And remember that this is with interest rates near zero. What are we going to do when those rates rise, as they inevitably must? What are we going to do when there’s no money left for anything else? 

If you’re afraid of a government shutdown today, imagine a world where the United States of America is literally broke. At the rate we’re going, you won’t have to imagine it for very much longer. 

Promising to be the party of limited government, Republicans asked voters for a majority in the House, and they got it. They asked voters for a majority in the Senate, and they got it. Now, they are asking voters for the presidency of the United States. If they cannot demonstrate that they are willing to fight on even these baby steps towards restraining spending, the question they will have to answer next November is: Why should we believe you?

Brandon is the president and CEO of Freedom Works.