The time has come for Congress to begin a serious discussion about how it is going to correct the current budgetary path into deeper and deeper debt. Many members of the 112th Congress campaigned on a promise to cut government spending and reduce the federal deficit. Numerous proposals have been put forth, and now Congress needs to get to work. Taxpayers for Common Sense offers this list of cuts worth $148 billion over the next five years. Just six of these cuts would trim more than $100 billion in federal liabilities over the next five years. We believe the government programs listed here — whether funded through appropriations or the tax code — can be safely eliminated from the budget because they are an inefficient, ineffective, or wasteful use of taxpayer money.

We know these cuts will not solve our budgetary challenges. Implementing these first cuts, however, will show that Congress and the President can begin the process of making the tough choices necessary to reduce our deficit, pare down our debt, and make government work.

Download our report: Recommended Budget Cuts for the 112th Congress (PDF)

See our letter to House & Senate leadership: TCS Budget Cut Suggestions for 2011