American
Business
Conference A Coalition of Growth Companies
| For Immediate Release: |
|
Contact: John Endean |
| February 5, 2004 |
|
(202) 822-9300 |
CEOs Applaud President's Budget Reform Proposals
The members of the American Business Conference (ABC), CEOs of fast-growing, midsize American companies, today praised the decision of President Bush to send to Congress a comprehensive proposal for budget reform and enforcement. Commenting on the plan, John Endean, ABC's president said:
"We share the President's desire to reestablish caps on discretionary spending and to restore pay-go discipline in regard to entitlement spending. Indeed, on the latter point, we would have been willing to bring tax cuts under the pay-go umbrella as well.
"There is much else in the President's proposal worthy of praise. We would cite in particular Mr. Bush's goal of establishing a joint budget resolution, which would require a Presidential signature and have the force of law. This would put teeth in the budget-making process, which today consists merely of the passage - if we are lucky - of a concurrent budget resolution, unsigned by the President and only episodically honored during the annual appropriations barbecue.
"We don't kid ourselves: none of these proposals, however desirable, can solve our federal budget-making woes. ABC members have been working on these issues since the days of Gramm-Rudman-Hollings and we are under no illusions that any budget reform can bring greater rationality to budget policy since the latter is dependent upon a better discussion about the role of government and how best to pay for it.
"But, as we have seen in the last few years, the budget process is even worse absent the sort of disciplinary devices the President now advocates. All who profess concern about the budget should join him in that advocacy."
The American Business Conference is a Washington-based coalition of chief executives of fast-growing midsize American companies. ABC members advocate policies to promote economic growth and a higher standard of living for all Americans.
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