Reflecting the wishes of Americans fed up with reckless government spending, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) today voted to support a bipartisan proposal to eliminate the Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit, which would save taxpayers $1.1 billion over ten years. The measure was the result of Americans reaching out to Congress through the YouCut website that turns cost-cutting suggestions into legislation.

On July 20, four Democratic Members of Congress launched a working group to focus on deficit reduction. Rep. John Adler (D-NJ) put forth this week’s proposal to eliminate the Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit, which the White House has said “has a high error rate and is not widely utilized by eligible taxpayers.” Under the program, eligible taxpayers may receive a portion of their Earned Income Tax Credit throughout the year in their paychecks. A government audit revealed that some 80 percent of recipients did not comply with at least one program requirement; 20 percent had invalid Social Security numbers and thus may not have been eligible for the credit; 40 percent failed to file the annual tax return required to reconcile the credit; and of the 60 percent of recipients who did file a return, two-thirds misreported the amount received. As a result, this program is particularly susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse.

“It is way past time for Congress to get serious about tackling our nation’s deficit and debt,” Luetkemeyer said. “The YouCut website is a tremendous tool that is engaging the public in what items they want to see their representatives cut. At the end of the day, getting our fiscal house in order is going to require both parties to work together and find bipartisan solutions to reduce spending and reduce our debt. The federal government has to live within its means just like Missouri families do every day.”

On the YouCut website each week, Americans have the opportunity to vote on a spending cut, and shortly after all the ideas are processed, Luetkemeyer and his colleagues seek a vote on the most popular spending cut. Luetkemeyer is encouraging folks to visit http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/and help Washington get government spending under control.

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