The McCain Freeze

If John McCain gets elected this fall, he's practically guaranteeing there will be lean times ahead for federal agencies. The Politico reports that in a new policy paper, McCain renews a promise to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. For starters, he says, all the money that would be saved once we finish with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan would go to deficit reduction.

But McCain also proposes an immediate yearlong "pause" in domestic federal spending. Specifically, he pledges to:

Freeze non-defense, non-veterans discretionary spending for a year and use those savings for deficit reduction. A one-year pause in the growth of discretionary spending will be imposed to allow for a comprehensive review of all spending programs. After the completion of a comprehensive review of all programs, projects and activities of the federal government, we will propose a plan to modernize, streamline, consolidate, reprioritize and, where needed, terminate individual programs.

In coducting such a review, McCain says he might "use the bi-partisan commission structure used for the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). Such a commission could be required to report to the president who would then submit the recommendations to the Congress for a straight up or down vote."

And, for good measure, McCain promises to "reform our civil service system to promote accountability and good performance in our federal workforce."