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Coalition to Reduce Spending is a non-partisan political advocacy group based in Alexandria, VA, United States. The mission of the Coalition to Reduce Spending is to advocate for reduced federal spending and balanced budgets. The Coalition believes all United States federal spending should be open for reduction.

Background
Coalition to Reduce Spending was founded in May, 2012.

Leadership
The Coalition is led by founder and president, Jonathan Bydlak. Corie C. Whalen, Richard Lorenc, Max Raskin, and Chris Brunner serve on the board of directors. Current staff include Mike Kane and Rebekah Johansen.

Advisory Board
Advisory Board includes investors Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers, political strategist Dave Nalle, and Allan Shivers, Jr. In February 2013, professor Herb London and columnnist Deroy Murdock joined the board.

Reject the Debt
The Coalition's advocacy centers around its Reject the Debt candidate pledge and its voter pledge. The candidate pledge states: I pledge to the citizens of my state and to the American people that, except when related to a congressional authorization of force, I will:

ONE, consider all spending open for reduction and vote only for budgets that present a path to balance; and

TWO, vote against any appropriations bill that increases total spending and against the authorization or funding of new programs without offsetting cuts in other programs.

2012 Election Cycle
During the 2012 election cycle, 24 candidates nationwide signed the Reject the Debt pledge.

In the United States Senate election in Texas, 2012 for Kay Bailey Hutchinson's vacated seat, both Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst signed the Coalition's anti-spending pledge. Ted Cruz went on to win the runoff and the general election. In Georgia's 9th Congressional District, both Doug Collins and Martha Zoller signed Reject the Debt, with Doug Collins going on to win the runoff and the general election.

Other work
The Coalition has also published various editorials advocating for cutting federal spending. A piece published in National Review argued that "elected officials can’t keep taxes from rising unless they also curb spending." A December 2012 editorial in RealClearPolitics cited Milton Friedman's claim that "the true burden of taxation is whatever government spends."

The Coalition strongly opposed passage of H.R.8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, asserting that "The real fiscal cliff — our $16.4 trillion national debt — is looming larger, and this bill only adds to our problem." . The organization also opposed suspension of the debt ceiling, with Coalition President Jonathan Bydlak stating, "By delaying a vote on whether and at what cost the federal government should be allowed to borrow more money, House members chose to deny accountability to the public."

In November 2012, the Coalition joined 20 other organizations in calling on Congress to allow sequestration to occur, and in September 2012, called for letting the Wind Production Tax Credit Expire along with 63 other advocacy groups.

Media & Acclaim
Coalition President Jonathan Bydlak has been a guest on Fox Business Network's STOSSEL and on TheBlaze TV with Andrew Wilkow.

Coalition President Jonathan Bydlak has appeared as a guest on numerous regional and nationally syndicated radio shows, including The Jason Lewis Show, The Peter Schiff Show, Butler on Business (Atlanta), Price of Business (Houston), and The Guy Benson Show (Chicago).

In December 2012, Fox Business Network's John Stossel wrote a column highlighting the work of the Coalition. The column was syndicated in many publications including Human Events, Reason Magazine, Townhall.com, The Washington Examiner, and the New Hampshire Union Leader. Coalition President Jonathan Bydlak later appeared as a guest on Fox's STOSSEL.

The Fiscal Times and Business Insider have called Bydlak "the next Grover Norquist" because of his work with the Reject the Debt pledge.

Paul Mulshine of the New Jersey Star Ledger has written numerous times about the Coalition, saying "We don't have [a balanced budget] amendment, however. But we do have this pledge."

Criticism
The majority of critiques unfavorable to the Coalition have been directed towards Reject the Debt pledge.

Scott Galupo at the The American Conservative criticized signatories writing that a "statutorily required balanced budget is a stupid idea, and that anyone who signs this new pledge is terrifically insane and should therefore be disqualified from public office. Other than that, it’s a significant improvement on Norquist’s porous pledge."

Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor at National Review, wrote "while I wish it could be done, I don’t think it’s possible to pledge our way to lower spending."

Funding
The organization is funded completely through private donors and corporate contributors.