University of Arkansas – Fort Smith business students in the Beta Alpha Psi honors society were able to hear about the federal government’s budgeting and appropriations process from U.S. Rep. Steve Womack during a talk on campus earlier this month.

 

Womack spoke to students in an effort to raise awareness for the national debt, how to combat its expansion and Congress’s budgeting procedure. As the newly-appointed chairman of the House Budget Committee, Womack heads the effort to prioritize up to $4 trillion in government spending. Additionally, as the chair of the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform, he is leading a 16-member committee to reform the current budget and appropriations process.

 

Womack attributed some of the rising spending to mandatory spending on programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, adding that mandatory spending has increased up to 70 percent. To combat this, Womack is advocating for a change of the law to alter requirements for the program and added that rising wages will encourage more people to return to work.

 

The presentation was given at the regular Beta Alpha Psi meeting March 2.