OPINION
At a time when Americans are watching every dollar, tightening their household budgets, and questioning whether the government understands the meaning of fiscal restraint, President Trump’s White House has taken the responsible step of proposing a rescissions package aimed at eliminating wasteful and unnecessary spending.
This isn’t about ideology — it’s about stewardship.
The rescissions package offers a clear message to the American people: We hear your concerns about government waste, and we’re ready to act.
As a conservative, I support this package, not only because it reduces spending but because it restores a measure of respect for the American taxpayer.
For too long, Washington has operated on a “use it or lose it” mentality — spending taxpayer dollars not based on need or results, but simply to protect its own future budget allocations.
As a result, federal agencies routinely accumulate unobligated funds, and duplicate programs persist for years, resulting in billions of dollars being allocated to efforts that have long outlived their usefulness. The rescissions package cuts these excesses, targeting funds that are woke, weaponized, and unnecessary.
Some will say the cuts are modest, amounting to just a fraction of the federal budget.
That’s true, but the principle matters.
You wouldn’t ignore waste in your own household budget just because it’s “only” $20 or $200. It’s about discipline.
And in a government spending trillions, fiscal discipline begins with reclaiming every unnecessary dollar and asking tough questions about how money is spent.
Just as important as the dollars being saved, is the precedent being set.
The rescissions process empowers Congress and the executive branch to work together to identify and cancel wasteful spending.
It’s one of the few tools we have that actively reins in excess, rather than perpetuating it.
In a climate where bipartisan cooperation on spending is rare, this package provides a blueprint for how we can start reversing the culture of overspending.
Critics worry about cutting support for programs they see as valuable. But this package does not defund essential services. It targets funds failing to serve a purpose to the American people.
Moreover, let’s not forget who bears the cost of inaction: the American taxpayer.
Every dollar the government wastes is a dollar which could have gone to lowering your tax burden, strengthening critical infrastructure, or paying down the debt we are leaving to the next generation.
With interest payments on our national debt projected to surpass defense spending in the coming years, choosing not to act is simply irresponsible.
This conversation also opens the door to larger reforms.
We need to revisit how we budget, how we evaluate the effectiveness of programs, and how we hold agencies accountable for outcomes.
The rescissions package is a demonstration that change is possible, and that we still have the tools to govern responsibly.
It should also be seen for what it is: an opening salvo in what must become a sustained campaign to root out government waste.
If we’re serious about restoring fiscal sanity, this package should be the first of many.
Congress and the administration must treat this moment not as a conclusion, but as the beginning of a broader, ongoing effort — a waterfall of targeted rescissions and structural reforms aimed at getting Washington’s house in order.
The American people deserve to know that their elected leaders are treating their money with care. Whether you’re a conservative, progressive, or somewhere in between, we should all be able to agree that wasteful spending is not a virtue.
The rescissions package is good policy, and it’s even better politics.
Because putting taxpayers first isn’t a partisan idea. It’s an American one.
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has served his Tennessee constituency for decades. He currently represents Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District in The United States House of Representatives.
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