we've got bigger problems, bigger fish to fry," he said. "I think that those problems are right now with out-of-control spending
Work to reduce out-of-control spending.
Occurrences
We must cut spending, cap borrowing, and eliminate inefficient government programs.
Evidence
Congress.gov lists Rep. Troy Downing as the sponsor of H.R. 3141, the CFPB Budget Integrity Act, introduced on May 1, 2025. The bill would impose limitations on the amount of unobligated balances of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Downing's office said he passed two amendments to the Department of Defense appropriations bill, and that one of them used offsets from Defense-wide Operations and Maintenance to fund the requested changes.
Assessments
Downing took same-term federal legislative actions aligned with reducing or offsetting spending, including sponsoring H.R. 3141 to limit CFPB unobligated balances and advancing an appropriations amendment using offsets. However, the evidence does not show that these efforts produced a broad enacted reduction in federal spending or materially delivered the full promised outcome of reducing out-of-control spending. This supports partial credit with an effort badge rather than full delivery.
The promise was framed as a commitment to work toward reducing spending, not to achieve a specific spending reduction. Evidence shows Downing introduced H.R. 3141 to limit CFPB unobligated balances and advanced an appropriations offset amendment in the same term, which are concrete legislative actions aligned with reducing or offsetting federal spending. Because the promised action was to work on the issue, these steps satisfy the commitment even though they do not prove broad reductions in overall federal spending.