News release from U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann
Washington, D.C.— Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R – TN) introduced H.R. 5933—the Returned Exclusively For Unpaid National Debt Act or the REFUND Act. This bill will allow states to identify unwanted federal funds and send that money back to the federal government to pay down the national debt.

“With our nation almost $20 trillion dollars in debt, it’s time to find innovative solutions to help balance our budget. We must tackle the fiscal challenges facing our country on every level in order to give future generations a chance for economic prosperity,” said Fleischmann. “I introduced the REFUND Act so Washington could see firsthand budgetary responsibility and debt reduction can begin at the state level.”

The opposite of a federal mandate, Fleischmann’s legislation gives states a voluntary avenue to designate returned federal funds solely for debt reduction. In doing so, the REFUND Act prevents those funds from going back to federal agencies simply to be redistributed, as is currently the case.

In a previous Congress the National Taxpayers Union named the REFUND Act its number one ‘“No-Brainer’ bill Congress should pass for taxpayers.” In addition, they called the bill “a common-sense measure toward short-circuiting the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ approach to accepting and spending federal grant money that has been a major contributor to Washington’s overspending problem.”

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has also introduced an identical bill in the Senate, S. 744.