Rep Crenshaw Explains Why Congressional Spending Is Out-of-Control

Alex Nitzberg | June 24, 2019 2:00 PM

The country’s national debt of over $22 trillion continues to climb at breakneck speed. In a recent video, freshman Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) pointed out that Congress has no requirement to balance the budget and he said that legislators can spend money while claiming “moral superiority” over other lawmakers.

“Well, it allows members to basically make a moral superiority argument for spending. It allows members to say, ‘I am more moral than you. I’m a better person than you ’cause I’m willing to spend more money on this particular subject,’” he explained, noting that, “It allows members to essentially shame each other into spending more.”

“This is how you eventually get to unsustainable spending levels. This is how you get a trillion dollar omnibus spending bill, because it’s too easy to keep tacking things on there. There’s no incentive to actually make choices,” Rep. Crenshaw explained.

He also pointed out the problem of omnibus spending legislation that crams a variety of disparate spending together into one package on which legislators must vote. After listing the different appropriations contained within one bill he noted, “There’s a lot in there. There’s a lot to be for, and there’s a lot to be against.”

Rep. Crenshaw said that Congress should vote for individual appropriations bills instead.

“The way this is supposed to work in the budget process, is we tackle each of these issues separately,” he said. “We vote on each appropriations bill, we debate on each appropriations bill separately, and then we pass it on its own merits.”