Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Newsmax on Friday that "it’s going to be next to impossible" for legislators to make substantial cuts to the federal budget because few "are absolutely dedicated to the process."
Congress this week passed a rescissions bill that cut billions from the budgets of National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Corporation, and the International aid program USAID. Marshall, who sits on the Senate Budget Committee, said on "National Report" that passing the rescissions bill was "not easy" and involved "a lot of listening."
He said that the late Kansas Republican Senator Bob Dole "gave me great advice: Go back home, the people at home will tell you the big decisions, but I think you can start with the president's budget."
Marshall said, "The president gave us $1.4 trillion budget for discretionary spending. I'm afraid we're going to crank out of here $1.6 [trillion or] $1.8 [trillion], so let's see what's in the president's budget versus what the Senate appropriators think we need to be spending. So that's a good start right there as well."
He added that "it’s going to be next to impossible" to substantially trim the federal budget.
"We know everybody talks the big talk up here, but there's only a handful that are absolutely dedicated to the process."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.