Romney Campaign Press Release - The Romney Agenda: A Conservative Blueprint To Restrain Government Spending

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Romney Press Shop (857) 288-6390

Today, In New Hampshire, Governor Mitt Romney Discussed His Conservative Blueprint To Restrain Government Spending. Americans and the people of New Hampshire are concerned about the overspending in Washington. Like the millions of families and businesses across the country, government must also live within a budget. Excessive spending is not an option for American families and should not be an option for Washington politicians.

BLUEPRINT #1: Vetoing Appropriations That Exceed Spending Targets:

Governor Romney Will Veto Appropriations Bills That Exceed Spending Targets. He will veto any non-defense discretionary appropriations bill that grows spending at a rate greater than inflation minus one percent (CPI-1%). This should be considered the minimum amount of spending reductions. This will save $300 billion over 10 years.

BLUEPRINT #2: Reevaluating All Federal Spending Programs:


Governor Romney Will Lead An Effort To Review And Reevaluate All Federal Spending Programs. His administration will undertake an exhaustive review of each individual federal program with the goal to eliminate and consolidate programs that are no longer useful or are bureaucratic and unwieldy. Federal spending programs do not have a right to immortality, and should not enjoy automatic increases year after year.

BLUEPRINT #3: Giving The President The Line-Item Veto Power:

Governor Romney Believes The President Needs The Line-Item Veto Power Again. As Governor, he had line-item authority, and often used it to trim or eliminate individual appropriations. Restoring this power to the President would allow us to make tremendous strides in eliminating earmarks and cutting inefficient programs.

- Click Here To Read Governor Romney's Top 10 Line-Item Vetoes While Serving In Massachusetts.

BLUEPRINT #4: Reforming Entitlements:


Governor Romney Will Work To Reform Entitlement Programs. In a forthright and bipartisan manner, Governor Romney will work with Congress to address the looming budget crisis caused by increased entitlement spending.

BLUEPRINT #5: Restoring The Supermajority Requirement:

Governor Romney Has Called On Congress To Re-Impose A Three-Fifths (60%) Supermajority Requirement To Raise Taxes. While Governor Romney is committed to lowering taxes, and as President will fight any proposed tax increase, he recognizes that all steps must be taken to prevent tax hikes. Congress should not be able to increase taxes on a political whim and with a simple majority. Making it even harder to attempt to increase taxes will help impose the fiscal discipline we need to stop overspending.

BLUEPRINT #6: Giving The President Additional Flexibility To Cut Spending:


Governor Romney Proposes Giving The Executive Branch The Authority To Spend Up To 25% Less Than Congress Appropriates. Governor Romney believes the President has an important role to play in the budget process, but that Presidential authority has been unjustifiably curbed in recent decades. With the proliferation of earmarks and with Congress unwilling to make tough spending choices, it is clear we need to re-insert the President into the budget process. The amount of money Congress tells the President to spend should be a spending ceiling, not a final price tag.

Read Governor Romney's Full Strategy For A Stronger America:


To read more about Governor Romney's agenda to change Washington, please click on the Strategy for a Stronger America , a compilation of his policy proposals for conservative change and to meet the new generation of challenges confronting our nation. Since January 2007, Governor Romney has outlined more than 50 different policy proposals. From defeating violent Jihadists to protecting traditional values, Governor Romney believes we can build a stronger America by taking Washington apart and putting it back together based on conservative principles that strengthen our national defense, our economy and our families.