Warren Rudman: RIP

Cutting Budgets is a New Hampshire tradition. Warren Rudman passed away November 19th.

            

Warren Rudman (R-NH)
(1930-2012)
 

He will be remembered for writing the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budget-cutting law, legislation which imposed automatic sequesters in the event that spending for specific expenditures exceeded previously established deficit limits.

The spending has not stopped. The first version of the law was struck down as unconstitutional for outlining the cuts contrary to constitutional process. The amended law two years later ran against the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, which changed the deficit targets.

Very few members in Congress are willing to face the debt and spending issue head-on. They agree on cuts in the future, then backtrack on those cuts when they come due.

The sequester set for next year, which would eliminate $500 billion from domestic and 5$ billion from military spending. With the fiscal cliff looming, both sides are negotiating ways around the cuts.

Only when it really hurts, only when the government has no more money left to borrow and spend will our leaders take the debt crisis seriously. At this time, neither side wants to risk losing their seats by pressing for the necessary yet unpopular cuts which this country needs to make.

Warren Rudman's efforts should not go unnoticed, notwithstanding.