Coalition to Reduce Spending

Last updated
Coalition to Reduce Spending
AbbreviationCRS
Formation2012 [1]
TypeAdvocacy group
Legal status 501(c)(4)
Headquarters919 Prince Street
Location
President
 Jonathan Bydlak [2]
Website reducespending.org

Coalition to Reduce Spending is a non-partisan political advocacy group based in Alexandria, Virginia, the United States, whose stated goal is to reduce Federal Government spending. [3] It was founded in May 2012. [4]

Contents

Leadership

The coalition is led by founder and president, Jonathan Bydlak. Corie C. Whalen, Richard Lorenc, Max Raskin, and Chris Brunner serve on the board of directors. Rebekah Johansen serves as the organization's director of outreach. [5]

Advisory board

The Coalition Advisory Board includes investors Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers, political strategist Dave Nalle, Texas businessman Allan Shivers, Jr., and activist Julie Borowski. In February 2013, Herbert London, columnist Deroy Murdock, and Norm Singleton, former legislative director to Congressman Ron Paul, joined the board. [6]

Advocacy

Reject the Debt

The coalition's advocacy centers upon its Reject the Debt candidate pledge and its voter pledge. The candidate pledge states:

I pledge to the citizens of my state and to the American people that, except when related to a congressional authorization of force, I will:
One, consider all spending open for reduction and vote only for budgets that present a path to balance; and
Two, vote against any appropriations bill that increases total spending and against the authorization or funding of new programs without offsetting cuts in other programs. [7]

2014 Election Cycle

As of February 2014, 42 candidates nationwide had signed the pledge to reject the debt, 22 from 2014 races and 20 from special elections in 2013. [8]

2013 Special Elections

During South Carolina's 1st congressional district special election, 2013, 15 of the 19 candidates in the field signed the coalition's pledge, including 14 of 16 Republicans and 1 of 2 Democrats. [9] After the primary, the pledge became a wedge issue in the runoff election between Curtis Bostic, who had not signed the pledge, and Mark Sanford, who had. [10] [11] Sanford later would reference the pledge in a debate against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch. [12] In the primary for the United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2013, Republican candidate Dan Winslow signed the coalition's Reject the Debt Pledge. [13]

Since that time, 30 candidates and elected officials have signed the Reject the Debt pledge. [14]

2012 Election Cycle

During the 2012 election cycle, 24 candidates nationwide signed the Reject the Debt pledge. [15]

In the United States Senate election in Texas, 2012 for Kay Bailey Hutchison's vacated seat, both Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst signed the coalition's anti-spending pledge. [16] [17] Ted Cruz ultimately won the runoff and the general election. In Georgia's 9th Congressional District, both Doug Collins and Martha Zoller signed Reject the Debt, with Doug Collins going on to win the runoff and the general election. [18] [19]

Other work

The coalition has published various editorials advocating for cutting federal spending. A USA Today opinion piece entitled "Responsible Pentagon cuts could work," suggested that "were the president actually inclined to find a "balanced approach" to deficit reduction, there exist a number of opportunities for substantial savings in the Pentagon's massive $680 billion budget that will not impact the country's ability to defend itself." [20]

Writing in The Hill's Congress Blog in a piece entitled "Missiles to Nowhere," Jonathan Bydlak argued, "like many government programs, MEADS is a classic example of how difficult it can be to cut spending once funding is appropriated and interest groups dig in their heels to defend pet projects." [21]

A piece published in National Review argued that "elected officials can’t keep taxes from rising unless they also curb spending." [22] A December 2012 editorial in RealClearPolitics cited Milton Friedman's claim that "the true burden of taxation is whatever government spends." [23]

The coalition strongly opposed passage of H.R.8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, asserting that "The real fiscal cliff — our $16.4 trillion national debt — is looming larger, and this bill only adds to our problem." [24] The organization also opposed suspension of the debt ceiling, with Coalition President Jonathan Bydlak stating, "By delaying a vote on whether and at what cost the federal government should be allowed to borrow more money, House members chose to deny accountability to the public." [25]

Cross-coalition advocacy

In November 2012, the coalition joined 20 other organizations in calling on Congress to allow sequestration to occur, [26] and in September 2012, called for letting the Wind Production Tax Credit Expire along with 63 other advocacy groups. [27] In June 2013, the coalition signed on to a letter along with 11 other groups urging Congress not to allow appropriations to exceed sequester levels. [28] In July 2013, the coalition joined 10 other groups in urging an open rule on the Defense Appropriations bill. [29]

In January 2014, the coalition joined on 11 other groups in urging Congress to repeal a duplicative USDA Catfish Inspection Program within the Farm Bill Conference Legislation [30]

That month, the Coalition to Reduce Spending also joined a broad group of organizations urging Congress to “remember that spending on ineffective weapons systems and wasteful Pentagon programs does not make us safer but spending smarter can make us stronger.” [31]

In February, the coalition signed on to a bipartisan letter with 36 organizations that criticized Congress for using the Overseas Contingency Operations budget to skirt required spending cuts. [32]

Media

CRS President Jonathan Bydlak was featured in an interview with ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie, which characterized Bydlak as "The Grover Norquist of Spending Cuts." [33] Red Alert Politics also has profiled Bydlak, characterizing him as the possible "next Grover Norquist," in a personal profile focusing on the growth rise in prominence of the coalition. [34] The Fiscal Times [35] and Business Insider [36] have made similar comparisons because of Bydlak's work with the Reject the Debt pledge.

Criticism

Scott Galupo at The American Conservative criticized signatories writing that a "statutorily required balanced budget is a stupid idea, and that anyone who signs this new pledge is terrifically insane and should therefore be disqualified from public office. Other than that, it’s a significant improvement on Norquist’s porous pledge." [37]

Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor at National Review, wrote "while I wish it could be done, I don’t think it’s possible to pledge our way to lower spending." [38]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Bydlak, Jonathan. "Media Advisory: Coalition to Reduce Spending Launches". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Leadership". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ "About". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  4. ↑ Rockwell, Lew (May 16, 2012). "New Anti-Spending Org". LewRockwell.com. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Leadership". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Board of Advisors". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Reject the Debt". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Signatories." Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ "South Carolina's First District Candidates Join Coalition to Reduce Spending" (Press release). Coalition to Reduce Spending. March 11, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ Murdock, Deroy (March 29, 2013). "Mark Sanford: Taxpayers' Choice for Congress". National Review Online. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ Martin, Drew (April 3, 2013). "Mark Sanford Wins GOP Run-Off, Faces Colbert Busch In May". United Liberty. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ Sanford/Colbert-Busch Debate. SouthCarolinaTV. April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  13. ↑ "MA US Senate Candidate Dan Winslow Rejects the Debt" (Press release). Coalition to Reduce Spending. April 10, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ Signatories. Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Signatories". Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  16. ↑ Antle, Jim (August 6, 2012). "The Cruz Line". American Conservative Magazine . Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  17. ↑ Dewhurst, David (July 17, 2012). "DC is spending us..." Twitter.com. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  18. ↑ Bydlak, Jonathan; Lorenc, Richard (August 21, 2012). "Georgia Rejects the Debt". American Spectator. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  19. ↑ Mueller, Sarah (December 29, 2012). "U.S. Rep-elect Doug Collins likely to ease into House role". Gainesville Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  20. ↑ Bydlak, Jonathan (4 March 2013). "Responsible Pentagon cuts could work". The Hill. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  21. ↑ Bydlak, Jonathan (26 April 2013). "Missiles to nowhere". The Hill. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  22. ↑ Bydlak, Jonathan (8 December 2012). "Grover's Missing Piece". National Review Online. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  23. ↑ Bydlak, Jonathan; Whalen, Corie (December 18, 2012). "Remember Milton Friedman: Spending Is Taxing". Real Clear Policy. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  24. ↑ "Statement on Passage of Fiscal Cliff Legislation" (Press release). Coalition to Reduce Spending. January 2, 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "Statement on Suspension of Debt Ceiling" (Press release). Coalition to Reduce Spending. January 23, 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  26. ↑ "An Open Letter to Congress: Respect the Sequester's Goals" (PDF). National Taxpayers Union. November 8, 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "64 Organizations to Congress:"Let the Wind Production Tax Credit Expire!"" (PDF). American Energy Alliance. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  28. ↑ Coalition: Don't Allow Appropriations to Exceed Sequester. Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  29. ↑ CRS Joins Fiscal Conservatives in Urging Open Rule for Defense Spending Bill. Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  30. ↑ TPA Sends Coalition Letter Supporting Repeal of Duplicative USDA Catfish Inspection Program in Farm Bill Conference Legislation. Taxpayers Protection Alliance. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  31. ↑ Coalition Urges Smart Defense Cuts. Coalition to Reduce Spending. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  32. ↑ Conservatives, Centrists, and Progressives Oppose Budget Gimmicks and the Pentagon's Slush Fund Archived 2014-04-19 at the Wayback Machine . Project on Government Oversight (POGO_. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  33. ↑ Gillespie, Nick; Winkler, Amanda (April 29, 2013). "The Grover Norquist of Spending Cuts: Jonathan Bydlak and the Coalition to Reduce Spending". ReasonTV. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  34. ↑ "A one-on-one with Jonathan Bydlak: The next Grover Norquist?". RedAlert Politics. April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  35. ↑ Boak, Josh (December 4, 2012). "The 29-Year-Old Who Wants to Be the Next Norquist". The Fiscal Times. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  36. ↑ Wyler, Grace (December 17, 2012). "This 29-Year-Old Princeton Grad Wants To Be The Next Grover Norquist — But He Doesn't Care At All About Taxes". Business Insider. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  37. ↑ Galupo, Scott (December 5, 2012). "'Improving' the Norquist Taxpayer Protection Pledge". American Conservative. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  38. ↑ Ponnuru, Ramesh (December 8, 2012). "The Spending Pledge". National Review. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
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