Sign and send a short, pre-written letter to your member of the House of Representatives: Do your job and stop the Trump administration from spending money that was not appropriated by Congress.
You have probably heard a lot about how the Trump administration has frozen hundreds of billions of dollars of federal spending that was appropriated by Congress. This is called impoundment, and it is something that Trump campaigned on (fair warning–that link goes to the Trump campaign website). Back on February 6, PBS published a useful explainer on impoundment, what it means, and the history and law surrounding it. Democrats in Congress have published a tracker detailing the funds that they believe the administration has impounded, currently totaling at least $425 billion.
You may have also heard that government spending is not actually down during the Trump administration. The Brookings Institute has a regularly updated tracker showing that this is, in fact, true. As of June 3, 2025, the federal government has spent $182 billion more this year than it spent through June 2, 2024 (which, because of the leap year in 2024, is the same number of days).
How can it be true both that the Trump administration is freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in spending and that federal government spending has actually increased from last year? Well, one of the reasons is that most government spending is actually on insurance programs like Social Security and Medicare payouts, or on the military. (The federal government is, after all, primarily an insurance company with an enormous military.) However, another reason is that the Trump administration is likely spending money that has not been appropriated by Congress, thus violating something called The Antideficiency Act.
It isn't just Democrats in Congress who are saying that the Trump administration is spending money that has not been appropriated by Congress. As Politico reported on June 4, leading Republican members of Congress are saying it too, even if they are using extremely gentle language when talking to the Trump administration about it:
In summary, not only is the Trump administration not spending money that was appropriated by Congress, it is likely that they are spending money that was not appropriated by Congress. This is antidemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional. Let's do our job as constituents to demand that members of Congress do their jobs to ensure that the Trump administration is not spending money that Congress did not approve.
Please, use this form to sign and send a short, pre-written letter to your member of the House of Representatives: Do your job and stop the Trump administration from spending money that was not appropriated by Congress.
Notes:
–Completing this form will not result in receiving emails from anyone other than Bowers News Media.
–There Is a pre-written letter you can send, as is. However, you can also write your own letter, if you wish.
–In order to send your letter, you will have to choose a topic. However, topic lists are maintained by each congressional office, and thus I do not know which topics you will have to choose from. You will have to use your best judgement.
–After you send your letters, you will be redirected to an ActBlue page for Bowers News Media. However, no donation is required, and if you see this page your letters have already been sent.
You may have also heard that government spending is not actually down during the Trump administration. The Brookings Institute has a regularly updated tracker showing that this is, in fact, true. As of June 3, 2025, the federal government has spent $182 billion more this year than it spent through June 2, 2024 (which, because of the leap year in 2024, is the same number of days).
How can it be true both that the Trump administration is freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in spending and that federal government spending has actually increased from last year? Well, one of the reasons is that most government spending is actually on insurance programs like Social Security and Medicare payouts, or on the military. (The federal government is, after all, primarily an insurance company with an enormous military.) However, another reason is that the Trump administration is likely spending money that has not been appropriated by Congress, thus violating something called The Antideficiency Act.
It isn't just Democrats in Congress who are saying that the Trump administration is spending money that has not been appropriated by Congress. As Politico reported on June 4, leading Republican members of Congress are saying it too, even if they are using extremely gentle language when talking to the Trump administration about it:
Concerns on Capitol Hill spilled into the open during a hearing last month. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) chair of the House appropriations subcommittee overseeing resources to the Department of Homeland Security, said his office lacked the information it needed to ensure the agency was spending funds approved by Congress. The administration, he said, could be risking a violation of the Antideficiency Act, which bars federal agencies from using resources before Congress has greenlit the spending.If a House Republican subcommittee chair is using language like this when talking to the Trump administration, it is basically a guarantee that the law is being violated.
“I would appreciate it if you, for your part, would let folks know up your chain of command that this information, if it’s not coming in real time, is not useful,” Amodei told [acting ICE director Todd] Lyons, who was on hand to testify. “[We] have to keep in mind things like the Antideficiency Act … and I’ll just be honest with you, speaking for me, I don’t know that I have the information that I need to make sure that we’re doing our job in the context of that.”
In summary, not only is the Trump administration not spending money that was appropriated by Congress, it is likely that they are spending money that was not appropriated by Congress. This is antidemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional. Let's do our job as constituents to demand that members of Congress do their jobs to ensure that the Trump administration is not spending money that Congress did not approve.
Please, use this form to sign and send a short, pre-written letter to your member of the House of Representatives: Do your job and stop the Trump administration from spending money that was not appropriated by Congress.
Notes:
–Completing this form will not result in receiving emails from anyone other than Bowers News Media.
–There Is a pre-written letter you can send, as is. However, you can also write your own letter, if you wish.
–In order to send your letter, you will have to choose a topic. However, topic lists are maintained by each congressional office, and thus I do not know which topics you will have to choose from. You will have to use your best judgement.
–After you send your letters, you will be redirected to an ActBlue page for Bowers News Media. However, no donation is required, and if you see this page your letters have already been sent.
