It is unlikely that Congress will make any progress repealing or replacing sequestration this year, two lawmakers said Tuesday morning, but they hope that in early 2015 Congress will continue what the Ryan-Murray budget deal started last year.
Speaking at the National Press Club, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) discussed how Congress could make some headway in relieving both the Defense Department and other federal agencies from strict spending limits and across-the-board cuts.
Both agreed that last December’s Bipartisan Budget Agreement would avoid another government shutdown this fall when fiscal year 2015 begins, but they did not agree on how to achieve enough savings to offset sequester relief.
“Because we had a bipartisan agreement last December, we have some period of relative calm when it comes to budget issues,” said Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. “But lurking below the surface is the sequester. And in fiscal year 2016 it’s going to rise up and hit the country again unless congress comes together to solve that issue. I would like to see us resolve that sooner rather than later, meaning before November, but I think the prospects of doing that are relatively remote right now. Which means right after the midterm elections that should be a priority. It’s important to provide some certainty.”
“This fiscal year ends in September and then we’re into the final fiscal year of Ryan-Murray, so that’s the time period – I think early next calendar year – where we’ve got to deal with these issues,” agreed Portman, who serves on the Senate budget and finance committees. “And the obvious way to deal with this is to focus on the mandatory side of the budget. Ryan-Murray did that, but frankly they took all the low-hanging fruit and didn’t take on the tough issues that deal with these important but, again, unsustainable programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.”
Portman said Congress needed to also consider a comprehensive tax reform, which would eliminate the tax deductions for special interests and allow a lower rate across the board while broadening the base of taxpayers contributing. By taking on a massive effort like entitlement reform or tax code reform, a lot of money could be found in one effort to eliminate or significantly reduce the effects of sequestration.
Van Hollen, on the other hand, focused on eliminating tax loopholes for the wealthy to allow for higher defense and nondefense discretionary spending. He told Defense Daily after the event that he believes Congress will take the same piecemeal approach as last year, finding bits of savings here and there and using that to supplement defense and nondefense spending accounts equally.
“We believe that both the defense and the non-defense sequester levels are inadequate for what the country needs,” he said. “We need to invest in education, we need to invest in medical research at places like [the National Institutes of Health], and we need to make sure we have a military that’s ready. So we will continue to look for solutions that replace the sequester on an equal basis.”