U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

89–011 2010

111th Congress, 2d Session – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 111–117 

‘‘REDUCE UNNECESSARY SPENDING ACT OF 2010’’ 

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL 

MESSAGE 

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING

THE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL ENTITLED, ‘‘REDUCE UNNECESSARY 

SPENDING ACT OF 2010,’’ TOGETHER WITH A SECTIONAL ANALYSIS 

MAY 24, 2010.—Message and accompanying papers referred to the 

Committees on the Budget and Rules and ordered to be printed 


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To the Congress of the United States: 

Today, I am pleased to submit to the Congress the enclosed legislative proposal, the ‘‘Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010,’’ 

along with a section-by-section analysis of the legislation. 

This proposal will be another important step in restoring fiscal 

discipline and making sure that Washington spends taxpayer dollars responsibly. It will provide a new tool to streamline Government programs and operations, cut wasteful Government spending, 

and enhance transparency and accountability to the American people. The legislation will create an expedited procedure to rescind 

unnecessary spending and to broadly scale back funding levels if 

warranted. The legislation would require the Congress to vote up 

or down on legislation proposed by the President to rescind funding. This new, enhanced rescission authority will not only empower 

the President and the Congress to eliminate unnecessary spending, 

but also discourage waste in the first place. 

Now more than ever, it’s critical that taxpayer dollars are not 

wasted on programs that are ineffective, duplicative, or outdated. 

In a time when American families and small business owners are 

conscious of every dollar and make sure that they manage their 

budgets wisely, the Federal Government can do no less. The American people expect and demand that we spend their money with the 

same discipline. Allowing taxpayer dollars to be wasted is both an 

irresponsible use of taxpayer funds and an irresponsible abuse of 

the public trust. 

Recently, the Congress has taken welcome steps to curb wasteful 

spending. In 2007, when I served in the Senate, a bipartisan group 

worked together to eliminate anonymous earmarks and brought 

new measures of transparency to the process so Americans can better follow how their tax dollars are being spent. Consequently, we 

have seen progress—with earmarks declining since these reforms 

were passed, including during this past fiscal year. 

In addition, my Administration undertook a line-by-line review of 

the Budget, and put forward approximately $20 billion of terminations, reductions, and savings both for Fiscal Year 2010 and 

2011. While recent administrations have seen between 15 to 20 

percent of their proposed discretionary cuts approved by the Congress, for FY 2010, we worked with the Congress to enact 60 percent of proposed cuts. 

Despite the progress we have made to reduce earmarks and 

other unnecessary spending, there is still more work to be done. 

The legislation I am sending to you today provides an important 

tool. The legislation allows the President to target spending policies 

that do not have a legitimate and worthy public purpose by providing the President with an additional authority to propose the 

elimination of wasteful or excessive funding. These proposals then 

receive expedited consideration in the Congress and a guaranteed 


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up-or-down vote. This legislation would also allow the President to 

delay funding for these projects until the Congress has had the 

chance to consider the changes. In addition, this proposal has been 

crafted to preserve the constitutional balance of power between the 

President and the Congress. 

Overall, the ‘‘Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010’’ provides a new way for the Congress and the President to manage taxpayer dollars wisely. That is why I urge the prompt and favorable 

consideration of this proposal, and look forward to working with 

the Congress on this matter in the coming weeks. 

BARACK OBAMA. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, May 24, 2010. 


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