Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) today joined fellow House Republicans by voting to eliminate the 1.4 percent pay raise for non-military federal employees proposed by the Obama administration.  The spending cut proposal was selected by the American public via the groundbreaking YouCut program. 87,124 votes were cast via YouCut to eliminate the proposed pay raise for all non-uniformed government employees which would save taxpayers $30 billion over the next 10 years.  Unfortunately, the Republican effort was blocked by a vote of 227 to 183.

“Today we had a unique opportunity to listen to the American public and save $30 billion over the next decade, but unfortunately partisan politics prevailed,” said Upton.  “Over the course of two weeks, over half a million people from across the country have voted via YouCut and we have heard them loud and clear. Folks in Michigan must continue to make their voices heard in this effort to cut spending and rescue future generations from an avalanche of debt.”

Each week, YouCut offers the public a list of five proposals aimed at reducing government spending.  In turn, participants may vote for the one proposal that they would most like to see addressed by Congress.  The following week, House Republicans will seek a vote on the House Floor on whether or not to take up and debate the top vote getter selected by the public. Today’s vote was the second program selected by the American public.

Votes may be cast online on the Republican Whip’s website at http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut, or by text messaging one’s vote to 68398.  Folks may also access YouCut via Upton’s website at http://www.house.gov/upton.

Upton supports a number of commonsense reforms to restore fiscal discipline in Washington, such as the earmark ban and line-item veto.  He is also a cosponsor of the Spending Limit Amendment to the Constitution (H.J.Res.79) to limit spending to one-fifth of the economy – the historical average since World War II. Such measures are necessary to limit spending as CBO estimates the President’s budget increases government spending to an alarming average of 24.1 percent of GDP over the next decade.

The following five programs are currently being voted on to cut spending:

Refocus National Archives Activities On Preserving Federal Records: Saves $10 million next year and $100 million over ten years.

Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Saves an estimated $30 billion.

Terminate Broadcasting Facility Grant Programs that Have Completed their Mission: Saves $25 million in the first year, $250 million over ten years.

Reduce Spending on Non-Essential and Questionable Research: Saves $3.8 million in the next year.

Consolidate and Reduce Funding for Federal Advisory Committees: Saves $34 million next year and $170 million over five years.