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Conservative Leaders To House GOP: Do Your Duty

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution vests the "power of the purse" in Congress: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law . . .” In specifying the activities on which public funds may be spent, Congress

defines the contours of federal power. This requirement of legislative appropriation before public funds are spent is at the foundation of our constitutional order, observed Kate Stith Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law at Yale Law School.


Prof. Stith further observed that rather than create a power, the Appropriations Clause creates a legislative duty that Congress exercise control and assume responsibility over the federal fisc. Congress’s “power of the purse” is at the foundation of our Constitution’s separation of powers, a constitutionally mandated check on Executive power.


Unfortunately, in the modern era Congress has regularly failed in that duty, choosing to appropriate by self-induced crises of pending government “shutdowns” rather than through the regular order of committee hearings and bills brought to the floor for debate and amendment.


In a recent “Memo for the Movement” the conservative leaders participating in the Conservative Action Project admonished the House Republican leadership to pre-emptively pass a short-term Continuing Resolution to March of 2025. Such a move would avoid the threat of a shutdown which will inevitably result in the middle of the night passage of a bloated omnibus spending bill.

 

Washington, DC


Conservatives urge the House majority to maximize their leverage in the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process, which is already underway.


The fiscal year ends on September 30, 2024. Rather than setting up the possibility of a shutdown at the end of the year, the House should pre-emptively pass a short-term Continuing Resolution to March of 2025. This not only avoids the legislative pile up before November, it removes the possibility of a bloated omnibus spending bill being jammed through the lame duck session. Moreover, it gives the new administration a chance to impose its priorities on a must-pass spending bill early in 2025.


Critically, a CR of this nature must not contain the appropriations side deals like the ones negotiated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray. Rather, the CR must be tied to the 2025 levels enacted as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.


There are very few major legislative items left on Congress’s calendar this year, but appropriations bills are one of them. We implore the House not to waste the opportunity to manage the process in a strategic manner which limits the possibility of a lame duck omnibus, adheres to statutory limits without side deals, and allows a new appropriations process to begin in an orderly manner in 2025.


Signed,


The Honorable Edwin Meese III

Attorney General

President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) 

 

The Honorable Jim DeMint

Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute

Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013)

 

Kevin Roberts, Ph.D.

President

The Heritage Foundation

 

The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell

Chairman, Conservative Action Project

Chairman, CNP Action, Inc.

 

The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell

President

The Leadership Institute 

 

The Honorable Tony Perkins

President

Family Research Council 

 

Jenny Beth Martin

Chairman

Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund

 

David N. Bossie

President

Citizens United 

 

Rebecca Weber

CEO, Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) 

 

Bob Carlstrom

President

AMAC Action 

 

The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.

Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, President Ronald Reagan 

 

L. Brent Bozell III

Founder and President

Media Research Center 

 

Thomas H. Jones

Founder

American Accountability Foundation 

 

Marty Dannenfelser

Vice President for Government Relations and Coalitions, Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) 

 

Lori Roman

President

ACRU Action Fund 

 

Terry Schilling

President

American Principles Project 

 

The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop

White House Advisor

President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985) 

 

Seton Motley

President

Less Government 

 

Ron Pearson

Executive Director

Conservative Victory Fund 

 

Jack Park

Conservative Activist and Donor


Karen England

President

Capitol Resource Institute

 

Andrew Roth

President

State Freedom Caucus Network


John Stemberger

President

Liberty Counsel Action

 

Lee Beaman

CEO

Beaman Ventures


Kimberly C. Good

President & CIO

KCG Investment


The Honorable Gary L. Bauer

President

American Values


Robert K. Fischer

Meeting Coordinator

Conservatives of Faith


Christina Murphy, Esq.

President

The Martin Foundation


Lourdes Cosio

Campaign for the American Future

 

Shannon O. Royce

President

Christian Employers Alliance


Kay R. Daly

President

Coalition for a Fair Judiciary


Tim Throckmorton

President

Lifepointe Ministries


The Honorable Mike Hill

Former Member

Florida State House

 

The Honorable Ken Cuccinelli II

Sr. Fellow

Center for Renewing America 

 

Mr. E.C. Sykes

General Partner

Aslan Ventures


The Honorable Peter J. Thomas

Chairman

The Conservative Caucus


Chris Iacovella

President & CEO

American Securities Association

 

The Honorable Brooke Rollins

President and CEO

America First Policy Institute (AFPI)

 

Ed Corrigan

Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project and President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute


Chad Connelly

Founder and President

Faith Wins 

 

Thomas E. McClusky

Principal

Greenlight Strategies, LLC 

 

William L. Walton

The Bill Walton Show

Resolute Protector Foundation 

 

Myron Ebell

Chairman

American Lands Council 

 

Star Parker

Founder and President, Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) 

 

Cleta Mitchell, Esq.

Senior Legal Fellow

Conservative Partnership Institute

 

Scott T. Parkinson

Vice President for Government Affairs

Club for Growth


Alfred S. Regnery

President

Republic Book Publishers


Kevin Freeman

Founder

NSIC Institute 

 

Kelly M. Kullberg

General Secretary, American Association of Evangelicals (AAE)

 

David Kullberg

Executive Director

Christians for A Sound Economy (CASE)


Bishop E.W. Jackson, Sr.

Founder and President

STAND Foundation Inc.


Elaine Donnelly

President

Center for Military Readiness 

 

Thomas Pyle

President

American Energy Alliance 

 

Kristen A. Ullman

President

Eagle Forum


Shea Bradley-Farrell, PhD

President

Counterpoint Institute


Tim Macy

Chairman

Gun Owners of America


C. Preston Noell III

President

Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

 

Rod D. Martin

Founder and CEO

Martin Capital, Inc.


Guillermo J. Aragon

Chief Strategy Officer

Martin Capital, Inc.


Ambassador Henry F. Cooper

Chief Defense and Space Negotiator, President Ronald Reagan & SDI Director, President George H.W. Bush


Tom DeWeese

President

American Policy Center


Penna Dexter

Co-Host

Point of View Radio 

 

Nancy Schulze

National Strategic Advisor

Physicians for Reform 

 

The Honorable Charles J. Cooper

Assistant Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan 1985-1988

Cooper & Kirk PLLC 

 

The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr.

Managing Editor


Mr. Richard D. Hayes

State Representative

State of Texas


RC Williams

Director

Watchmen Action, Inc.



  • Congress

  • power of the purse

  • Constitutional powers

  • GOP leaders

  • legislative appropriations

  • legislative duty

  • Speaker Mike Johnson

  • Mitch McConnell

  • continuing resolutions

  • government shutdowns

  • omnibus spending bills

  • 2024 fiscal year

  • Fiscal Responsibility Act

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