Convention of States (COS) endorser and Texas Representative Chip Roy introduced the Disaster Offset and Government Efficiency (DOGE) Act on Tuesday to chip away at federal spending before Elon Musk’s and Vivek Ramaswamy’s appointment to the Department of Government Efficiency in January.
This week, as the House faces pressure to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through March 14, 2025, and avoid a government shutdown, Roy proposed to amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to reduce fiscal year 2025 discretionary spending. The DOGE Act, for example, would shrink the revised nonsecurity budget from $703,651,000,000 to $597,000,000,000.
In stark contrast to the proposed spending package, which is 1,547 pages long, Roy’s bill is a mere three pages.
The Texas representative, among others, blasted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for releasing his continuing resolution days before the deadline, providing lawmakers with fewer than 96 hours to read the bill. Under the House GOP conference’s 72-hour rule, leadership must grant members at least three days to examine legislation before voting. If Johnson abides by this rule, the House cannot vote until Friday evening — the same day current funding expires.
Ramaswamy, another COS endorser, revealed he read the entire bill, which he criticized as a “last-minute jam job.”
WATCH:
NEW: Vivek Ramaswamy rips Speaker Johnson's funding bill, says the government is trying to waste your money without telling you.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 18, 2024
Here is what's inside:
- Pay raises for members of Congress.
- Expansion of their federal health benefits.
- Opening up a new stadium in… pic.twitter.com/MSfetsw5xN
The Speaker has defended the bill, which contains less than President Joe Biden requested. Johnson will face a vote on January 3 to maintain his speakership, which may be jeopardized by his support for the package.
“Remember guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans,” he said, “so any bill has to have Democrat votes.”
Johnson also revealed he had spoken with Musk, who will lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Ramaswamy, about the Tesla CEO’s opposition to the bill.
SEE ALSO: Congressman Chip Roy: “I wholeheartedly endorse the Convention of States Project”
“It’s the same dang thing every year,” blasted Roy. “Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it’s the right thing to do.”
“We’re just fundamentally unserious about spending,” the congressman argued in another interview. “As long as you have a blank check, you can’t shrink government. If you can’t shrink government, you can’t live free.”
Congress is fundamentally unserious about spending.
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 17, 2024
As long as you have a blank check you can’t shrink government.
If you don’t shrink government you can’t live free #Crambus pic.twitter.com/fgs6oJkV5f
Mr. Roy raises a valid point — which is why the COS grassroots aren’t waiting for Congress to shrink the government. While “DOGE” is well-intentioned and certainly a step in the right direction, only “We the People” can deliver lasting change to Washington.
To join the growing people-centric movement to use the Founding Father’s constitutional audit clause against the federal government, sign the COS petition below!
