Ken Golden, candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District, released earlier this week his legislative priorities, should he receive the nomination and be elected to Congress.
Balanced Budget Amendment – Amends the Constitution to require Congress and the President to balance expenditures and revenues for each fiscal year.
One Issue, One Bill – Requires each piece of congressional legislation to be focused on one area of interest and one area of interest only. This would prohibit unrelated amendments and earmarks.
Line Item Veto Amendment – Amends the Constitution to allow the President to return legislation to Congress with specific line items vetoed. This provides the President a useful tool to ensure the elimination of “pork-barrel” spending measures as riders on non-related legislation.
Budget Reform Act – Mandates 2% annual budget cuts on each cabinet level department, except defense, to force the respective departments to assign priorities. Creates a bipartisan budget commission, which would author recommendations to reduce any deficit. These recommendations would be guaranteed by a floor vote in both houses and require a simple majority to pass.
Pay As You Go Act – Requires new proposals to be either budget neutral, offset with budget cuts elsewhere, or paid for by a tax increase. This would ensure that no new spending or tax cuts will increase the deficit.
Additionally, yesterday, Golden called upon Congress to audit the Federal Reserve. The issue came up during the debate Monday and was discussed on Capitol Hill yesterday.
“Should we decide to keep the Federal Reserve, a system of regular audits and reports must be established. If President Andrew Jackson taught us anything, it is that it is patently unsafe to allow a private bank or group of banks to control the fortunes of the entire country,” said Golden. “Unless we gain back control of our monetary system, we face the serious threat of hyperinflation and the debasing of our currency. We must cut spending and eliminate our deficit, so that we are not at the mercy of foreign governments and private bankers.”
Golden is one of six Republican candidates vying for the opportunity to face freshman Democrat incumbent, Rep. Glenn Nye.
