In response to the release of the White House budget blueprint, the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Economic Development, Robert Dugan issued the following statement:
“From its founding days, the creation of the Federal Government had a purpose. “Our Forefathers” had plenty of debates and discourse over what those purposes should be and how we would come together to be a United States of America, with the Federal Government playing a role that did not supplant the states or local rule, but rather provided the glue to hold us together. As established in the Constitution, that purpose was to “…form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity…” Our Federal Government has an important responsibility to provide the investments and support that separately our states cannot provide.
No one argues that over the past few decades, the role of the Federal Government has significantly increased in our daily lives, in many cases supplanting local control. We hear it daily from our member businesses and policy committees. The question, however, is what should that role be and what does a solid federal budget look like in the context of TODAY? There is no doubt that the Federal Government plays a key role in infrastructure, safety, and trade, as well as providing for the building blocks and consistency in policy which the states depend on to be, in fact, a “more perfect union.” Unfortunately, as each president proposes their budget, they are not building from scratch. They are building off what was done before, what was built before, and the context in which we, at the local level, work to ensure jobs and prosperity, innovation, strong communities, and a place we want to call home where we can live work and play. In short – Real World Context. We got into the place we are today incrementally, and changes in course will be successful, only if we make them incrementally as well.
As identified in recent news articles, the “skinny” budget proposed by our Federal Administration today was developed by White House advisors based rhetoric largely from the campaign trail. While some of the intent may be meritorious, the application left quite a bit to be desired. It has already been deemed “Dead on Arrival” by many in Washington, just as many proposals by prior administrations have been. Regardless, it provides a framework for discussion that cannot be ignored.
As a region, we have our work cut out for us. We must work to help our representatives in Congress and the United States Senate find a common ground between balancing a federal budget that does not burden our children with mountains of debt; rolls back Federal Government overreach from past decades that stymie progress with no real benefits to the citizens of our great nation; honors our commitments to help those less fortunate seize the brass ring of employment and productivity; and, provides for the critical roles we depend on the Federal Government to execute for our region.
As we do each year in our federal advocacy efforts, including our annual Cap-to-Cap program, the Metro Chamber will continue to work with our policy teams, nearly 1700 member businesses, and local civic leaders to find and advocate for that balance. As we work to drive regional economic prosperity for our region, our business leaders are committed to identifying government overregulation, prioritizing the programs that are most critical to our region, and advocating for a realistic federal budget that checks the Federal Government’s overreach, while providing the essential services critical to “promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”