Rep. Kind Returns to Taxpayers $56,460 from Annual Office Budget

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) announced today that he is returning $56,460.12 to the U.S. Treasury to pay down the deficit. Rep. Kind has donated a portion of his congressional budget every year since taking office, for a grand total of $1.5 million returned to taxpayers.

“I am always looking for ways to save taxpayer dollars, starting right here in my Congressional office where I can manage how these dollars are spent,” said Rep. Kind. “Our office budget was reduced by 8.2% last year as part of across-the-board budget cuts, but like every year, I am still returning taxpayer dollars to the Treasury.”

Overall, congressional office budgets have been have been cut by 16% since FY2010.

In addition to his annual budget givebacks, Rep. Kind is a leading voice for fiscal responsibility in Congress. He has consistently opposed the automatic cost-of-living increase for Members of Congress, and worked to reform the tax code to make sure that everyone pays their fair share. He’s also pushing to reform spending in three key areas: rising health care costs, defense spending and outdated farm subsidy programs that benefita handful of large agribusinesses. 

“Wisconsinites know the value of a dollar, and want to see the tough decisions get made to put our budget back on track,” concluded Rep. Kind. “We need to overhaul our spending policies and pay down the debt so that our children and grandchildren aren’t stuck with our unpaid bills.”