Letter: Federal spending is out of control

Friday, Jan. 11, 2002 | 9:49 a.m.

On Dec. 11 Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill notified Congress, on behalf of the Bush administration, that the ceiling on the national debt could be reached as soon as February.

He requested that the ceiling be boosted to $6.7 trillion. The current limit of $5.95 trillion is the result of an increase made in 1997. O'Neill blamed Black Tuesday and "the ongoing war on terrorism" for the upsurge in borrowing that now "requires" an increase.

However, had the federal government been operating within the enumerated powers of the Constitution, there would never have been such a gigantic debt. Easily two-thirds of all federal expenditures are not authorized in the Constitution. Instead of raising the debt limit and heaping a burden on our children, we should make major permanent cuts in all unconstitutional spending.

Just three days after the O'Neill request, an Associated Press story appeared with the headline, "Senators load nearly $400 million in pet projects." The article described how over 100 amendments were tacked on to the "must-pass" appropriations bill for the Defense Department by rapid voice votes with little or no debate. Many of them had nothing to do with defense or fighting terrorism.

Fiscal 2002 federal spending will likely exceed $2 trillion!

KENNETH L. HOVEY