Jeb Bush Campaign Press Release - Reforming DC

We used to call this city "Mount Tallahassee" because it was so remote from the people, so caught up in the settled ways of a comfortable establishment. I was a governor who refused to go along with that establishment. I wasn't a member of the club, and that made all the difference.

Should I win this election, you will not find me deferring to the settled ways of "Mount Washington," either. The overspending, the overreaching, the arrogance, and the sheer incompetence in that city — these problems have been with us so long that they are sometimes accepted as facts of life. But a president should never accept them, and I will not. We need a president willing to challenge the whole culture in our nation's capital — and I mean to do it.

"We need a president willing to challenge the whole culture in our nation's capital — and I mean to do it."

Balanced Budget Amendment

From the very outset as president, I would signal a new direction by supporting fundamental reforms that go to the heart of the problem.

First, we have to confront and end the habitual practice of deficit spending. As long as deficits are an option, deficits will be the reality. The remedy that I will support as president is a balanced budget amendment. To be clear, a properly-designed amendment must be a tool to limit government — not raise taxes.

Americans in every party are right to be worried about the fiscal integrity and solvency of our government. It needs to be fixed. I will urge Congress to submit a balanced budget amendment to the states and let the people decide.

Second, it's time to revive Veto Corleone. The president should be able to eliminate wasteful spending through a constitutionally sound line-item veto — such as the version that Congressman Paul Ryan has proposed.

Overspending is one of those problems where a president has to assert the national interest, even if no one else will. The power to veto irresponsible spending is part of that duty, and I know how to use it.

Automatic Government

Too much in the federal government runs on automatic — which usually means that things are happening with no one stopping to ask why. We see this in the way the civil service operates. People are hired, promoted, and given pay increases often without regard to performance.

More than ever, it's a system stuck in old ways, ruled by inertia, and unaccountable to the people. And with over two million employees on the federal payroll, these problems carry a heavy cost, and a few serious reforms will go a long way.

My first reform will be placing a freeze on federal hiring. We can expect more than 10 percent of the current federal workforce to retire over the next 5 years. It's a fairly safe bet that not everyone who leaves has to be replaced.

We will go by a simple three-out, one-in rule across the federal workforce, with exceptions for critical positions related to our security and safety. Only one new hire for every three who leave.

This policy can, on its own, reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy by 10 percent within 5 years.

Combined with other reforms, reducing the size of the bureaucracy by 10 percent within 4 years is a realistic goal, saving tens of billions of dollars, and without adding to unemployment.

There are a lot of exemplary employees in the federal government, but they're treated no better than the bad ones. And the bad ones are almost impossible to effectively discipline or remove.

Job security is one thing, job entitlement is another, and every time a federal employee needs to be moved along it shouldn't be a federal case.

I will also propose, along with merit pay, enhanced financial incentives for managers whose skill and careful planning actually reduce spending.

When federal employees are found squandering public money, we should call them out on it — and when they find ways to save public money, we should reward them for it.

"When federal employees are found squandering public money, we should call them out on it — and when they find ways to save public money, we should reward them for it."

Setting the Standard

In all of these reforms, it matters what example is set by those in elective office. It's easy for elected officials to lay out standards of performance for others. But what are high standards worth if we don't apply them to ourselves? Consider a pattern in Congress of members who sometimes seem to regard attendance and voting as optional — something to do as time permits.

The reality is that Congress is in session for three days in a typical week anyway, so it's not asking too much that every member be there and work on those days. And if it's an incentive they need, how about the one that pretty much every worker in America has in their job: you don't show up, you don't get paid for that time.

A bill to dock the pay of absentee members might not pass the House or Senate, but at least it would get them all there for a vote. If we can't always get them on the job, let's at least get them on the record.

If I learned anything as Governor of Florida, it was never to take time for granted. I even kept on my desk, where I would always see it, a digital clock counting down the time left in my term to the last hour. I might just bring that clock along, should I have the honor of serving the 1,461 days of the next presidential term.

"Real economic growth is achievable, and I have set a goal of four percent a year."

But this era of excuses is drawing to an end. There's some lost time to make up, and we can do it. Real economic growth is achievable, and I have set a goal of four percent a year. Balanced budgets, and debt that is finally under control, are also within our power to accomplish. And the driving force must be a presidential-level challenge to the culture of spending. This is essential and achievable in a single term — and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Additional Materials

Mount Washington Full Remarks

Backgrounder: Jeb Bush: Proven Leadership to Reform Washington