Advocacy groups led by former Vice President Mike Pence are urging lawmakers to consider a series of spending reforms to address the growing national debt.
In an eight-page document obtained by The Hill, American Freedom released what it calls a “Guide to Reducing Federal Spending,” a three-step plan for reducing the national debt. Recently exceeded 35 trillion dollars.
“After decades of ignoring the magnitude of federal waste, the consequences are finally starting to catch up with us,” the document states. “As has always been the case, the problem is not a lack of revenue, but a lack of willingness to make tough choices to rein in spending and the courage to say ‘no’ to wasteful programs.”
The first part of the Advancing American Freedom proposal tackles mandatory spending cuts by offering proposed reforms to programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Among the solutions proposed in the document are cutting waste, imposing additional work requirements on Medicaid recipients, establishing a congressional committee to study possible cuts, and means-testing cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients so that those making more than $1 million don’t get annual increases.
The second aspect of the group’s plan is the repeal of tax credits: The document specifically calls for the repeal of various clean energy tax breaks that were part of the Stop Inflation Act of 2022, which passed with only Democratic votes.
He also proposes eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which allows residents of high-tax states to deduct the first $10,000 in state and local taxes they pay from their federal taxable income. Many Republicans oppose raising the SALT cap, which was set in the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, arguing it would encourage Democratic-governed states to set higher taxes.
The third part of the organization’s proposal focuses on discretionary spending cuts. It calls for an end to the “shutdown drama,” saying brinkmanship only encourages bad spending deals. It also calls for the elimination of earmarked funds, a freeze on non-defense spending and the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency, arguing the government could save billions of dollars by transferring services.
“Advancing American Freedom believes it is important to articulate and account for specific spending cuts,” the document concludes. “We will continue to lead the way by identifying credible ways to reduce America’s debt. The next step is for politicians to put their money where their mouths are. 2025 will be a great opportunity.”
The document, released Tuesday, came as Pence, unsuccessful in the 2024 presidential election, called for “common-sense” reforms to entitlement systems like Medicare and Social Security, warning that they would be unsustainable if nothing is done.
The position marked a departure from that of former President Donald Trump, who handily won the presidential nomination and vowed to leave Social Security untouched despite repeated cuts in White House budget proposals.
Pence’s advocacy group has continued its work ahead of the November election, announcing it would invest $20 million this year to shape conservative policy, a direct effort to counter what Pence previously described as populism that is “out of step with conservative principles.”
