Bob Barr on Budget & Economy Libertarian nominee for President; Former Republican Representative (GA-7)

Financial crisis requires investigation & prosecution

Not government’s job to bail out Wall Street

He said it’s a terrible idea and it’s not government’s job to interfere with the free market. He’s also against mortgage and foreclosure assistance for homeowners. “It’s not the role of the government to control the economy, manage the economy or dictate the economy,” he said.

Earmarks are an outrageous abuse by Congressmen to buy votes

The federal government must take the lead in making significant cuts in spending. Focusing on earmarks risks distracting attention from the broader problem of a government wildly wasting the money of hard-working Americans.

Remove both earmarks and cut the underlying spending

“Removing ‘earmarks’ but not cutting the underlying spending is simply government as usual and is nothing more than a cynical shell game,” Barr stated; adding, “and that’s the high water mark in the debate thus far.” Barr said this is not adequate, and that “America’s voters deserve better than a choice between the lesser of two evils.”

Allow $3 on 1040 form to pay off National Debt.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual to designate three dollars on his or her income tax return (six dollars on a joint return) to be used to reduce the public debt of the United States.

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT: Pres. Eisenhower apparently once said that he believed that there could be no surplus as long as our Nation was in debt. I come from that school of thought, and yet that is not exactly where we are right now in Washington.

Where we are right now is debating whether or not 90 percent or 50 percent, or some number in between, of these projected future surpluses should be allocated to the debt. What struck me is the fact that really more than just the Congress should be involved in that debate. It is for that reason that I introduce today the Taxpayers' Choice Debt Reduction Act.

What this bill would do would be to simply take the 1040, the tax return as we now know it. And right now, we can send $3 to the presidential campaign. This would create another box wherein we could send 3 bucks to debt reduction. That is not enough money to change our national debt, but it is enough money to make a small step in an important debate that we all ought to be a part of.

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means; never called for a House vote.

Supports balanced budget amendment & line item veto.

[As part of the Contract with America, within 100 days we pledge to bring to the House Floor the following bill]:

The Fiscal Responsibility Act:
A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out-of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.