Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) reiterated his stance on curbing government expenditures, presenting a series of proposals in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.
“Federal spending is spiraling out of control,” Johnson argued, calling on lawmakers to reinstate pre-pandemic spending levels, adjusted for inflation and population growth.
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He referenced fiscal 2019 as an example, noting that federal expenditures then were $4.447 trillion. By fiscal 2020, pandemic-related spending had driven that figure to $6.554 trillion. Businesses shuttered, cities imposed lockdowns, and unemployment surged during this period.
Johnson expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as excessive pandemic-era spending. He emphasized that such spending should have been a temporary anomaly and advocated for implementing budget caps tied to inflation to restore fiscal responsibility.
The senator also criticized the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the 2020 CARES Act, for its vulnerabilities to fraud. Although the initiative was intended to sustain small businesses, fraudulent claims resulted in millions of dollars in misallocated loans. Applicants exploited the system by falsifying employee counts or fabricating business entities. The program concluded in May 2021, leaving concerns about accountability in its wake.
Johnson argued that the loans were distributed indiscriminately and often forgiven without rigorous oversight. He warned that the waste and fraud tied to COVID-19 relief spending are likely more extensive than reported. The approach to distributing relief funds, according to him, lacked precision and contributed to the inflation that reached a four-decade high.
As a solution, Johnson proposed recalibrating spending benchmarks using fiscal 1998 as a foundation, with adjustments for inflation and population growth. He pointed out the devaluation of the dollar since 1998, emphasizing the need for more prudent fiscal policies.
The senator questioned why federal policymakers allowed such devaluation and suggested that reverting to baseline budgets from past years is both practical and achievable. His remarks coincided with discussions about federal spending ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Trump has enlisted Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead an advisory group focused on combating government waste. This initiative, termed the “Department of Government Efficiency,” has already influenced Congress, with the group contributing to the failure of two temporary funding bills before a government shutdown was narrowly averted with a third package.
