Debt Digest | Rescissions Week
Links & Fiscal Facts
Reportedly, the White House will send a special rescission package to Congress today, requesting around $9.6 billion in cuts to federal media programs and foreign aid. The process being invoked by the administration represents a golden opportunity for Congress to flex its atrophied spending cut muscles and deliver on promises to codify DOGE cuts into law, separate from ongoing debates about the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Congress shouldn’t pass up this (or any) opportunity to cut wasteful and low-priority spending, particularly given our worsening fiscal situation, rising bond yields, and the recent US credit downgrade.
Below are some of the Debt Dispatch’s rescission-relevant articles:
Codify DOGE cuts through rescissions. While the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) efforts to cut federal spending have fallen vastly short of campaign promises, DOGE has elevated the conversation over wasteful spending to a national level. Per Cato polling, Americans believe that 59¢ of every $1 in federal spending is wasteful. For months, Republicans have been cheerleading DOGE’s efforts. Now, it’s time to put pen to paper and take leadership on spending cuts. Rescissions offer a viable path to do so, locking in credible savings and reducing the deficit.
Reviving rescissions would be a return to a more responsible era of budgeting. In the 1980s and 1990s, presidentially initiated rescissions were a more common feature of the budget process, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Under this special, expedited process, the president works jointly with Congress to identify, pause, and legally cancel previously approved spending. Notably, this process bypasses the Senate filibuster. Reevaluating low-priority spending and cutting waste should be a routine feature of the budget process. That means embracing the use of rescissions. Unfortunately, the current package represents a tiny cut to discretionary spending (see the graph below). The administration and Congress should treat this as a tiny down payment toward much bigger rescissions in the weeks ahead.
Deliver on President Trump’s spending cut priorities by beefing up rescissions. Congress should add significantly to the $9.6 billion rescissions package currently under consideration. Republicans should look to the president’s FY2026 budget for a blueprint on where to start. Take the National Endowment for the Arts, which President Trump proposes eliminating. As Ryan Bourne notes, “There is no clear constitutional or economic case for federal arts and humanities subsidies. Great art and scholarship can thrive through market and philanthropic support. If we want cultural freedom and artistic excellence, without politicization, the best thing Washington can do is get out of the way.” Read more in his briefing paper here.
This rescission package is another test for a Congress that is otherwise receiving failing marks for fiscal responsibility. Was all the talk about DOGE and slashing wasteful spending bluster, or will Congress seize this opportunity to legislate real spending cuts? For the sake of the country, let’s hope Washington does better this time around.
Good article. Tom Mast, Congress is Vital.