283 B % Decrease 23%
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this will be the third year in a row in which the U.S. Government runs a budget deficit near – or greater-than $1 trillion. These deficits are far greater than what is economically sustainable, and far outpaces the political duty to produce budgets that are economically responsible. The solution to the government’s fiscal crisis needs to begin by cutting spending at the heart of the problem – right here, on Capitol Hill. This proposal would be to cut the Legislative Branch by 23 percent or $1.283 billion in FY 2011. Consistent with many of the spending cuts included in this proposal, the Legislative Branch is taken back to FY2008 levels, and includes the elimination of an outdated agency, the Government Printing Office [GPO]. Government Printing Office: Eliminated The advancement in technology and innovation has brought about the electronic age, an era that includes very little reason for the government to continue printing large amounts of documents, most of which can be found and read on the internet. In addition, the waste at GPO is incessant. In 2010 alone, GPO spent nearly $30 million in taxpayer dollars to provide Congressional offices with the rarely read Congressional Record, and in September they released their first-ever comic book, ―Squeaks Discovers Type,‖ meant to teach children ―why printing is important.‖
Page 2 of 36 Judicial Branch Agency/Program Judicial Branch Funding Level $5.078 B Savings $2.434 B % Decrease 32%
“The law is the organization of the natural right of lawful defense. It is the substitution of a common force for individual forces. And this common force is to do only what the individual forces have a natural and lawful right to do: protect persons, liberties, and properties; to maintain the right of each and to cause justice to reign over us all.” --Frederic Bastiat The court systems in the U.S. provide an important and necessary function of providing checks and balances, as well as providing a means of enforcing justice. Providing funding levels that are sufficient for the Judicial Branch to carry out their important task is essential. However, since 2001 funding has increased nearly 30 percent faster than the rate of inflation. The integrity of our justice system becomes vulnerable if the integrity and strength of our government becomes weakened, a situation that is currently developing with the unsustainable amount of spending, deficit, and debt. Strengthening our fiscal situation and promoting smaller government will require the need for every agency at every level of government to make sacrifices, but ultimately, a more accountable and fiscally responsible government will increase our liberty and the rule of law. This proposal suggests taking the Judicial Branch back to FY2008 spending levels.
Page 3 of 36 Agriculture Agency/Program Agriculture Funding Level $103.206 B Savings $42.542 B % Decrease 30%
The Department of Agriculture is one of the largest agencies of the federal government. With fewer than 1 million farmers in the United States, the USDA employs over 110,000 employees, or roughly one federal employee for every nine farmers. Although farm and crop subsidies cost tens of billions of dollars each year, the largest USDA program continues to be funding for food stamps. The program was originally created as a temporary program from 1939 to 1943, but became permanent in 1964 under President Lyndon Johnson. After the program swelled to more than 15 million recipients in 1974, and continued to increase in scope with the expanded benefits provided by Congress in 1993, Congress and the President finally decided to address the food stamp program through welfare reform in 1996. Food stamps were ultimately turned into a block grant program, which decreased the number of food stamp recipients, and helped lower costs. It wasn’t until 2002, under the direction of both a Republican President and Congress that the food stamp program was once again expanded. In 2001, the food stamp program cost taxpayers $18 billion, but has since increased by more than 289 percent (FY2010 cost of $70 billion), and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this entitlement program will cost nearly $700 billion over the next 10 years. While many automatic spending entitlement programs like food stamps will need to once again be re-evaluated for reform, including eliminating the more than $1 billion in annual erroneous and fraudulent food stamp payments, the proposal only recommends taking the food stamp program back to FY2008 levels. This level of funding still represents a 122 percent increase over the 2000 levels. In addition, the proposal would take farm and crop subsidies back to 2008 levels as well. Additional: Eligibility is based on income and assets, with the gross income cutoff set at 130 percent of the poverty level (28,665 for a family of four). The maximum monthly benefit in 2009 for a household of four was $668 $8,016 per year. According to the CDC, obesity rates are actually higher for adults and children who are below the poverty level or on food stamps. Because individuals tend to buy cheap, high calorie processed foods, the food stamp subsidy program continues to support an out-dated model of health standards and balanced meals.
Page 4 of 36 Food stamps are not conditioned on work status and contribute to long-term dependence on the federal government. Agriculture Research Service: Eliminated Per the CATO Institute: ―Most American industries fund their own research and development programs. The agriculture industry is a notable exception. USDA spends about $3 billion annually on agricultural research, statistical information services, and economic studies.‖ Agriculture, like all other industries can perform its own research and development without the use of federal subsidies to do so. The research done by USDA is there to keep the status quo. National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Eliminated National Institute of Food and Agriculture is the parent agency to the Agriculture Research Service. NIFA is essentially the communications arm to spread ARS information to the public. The department’s main area of study is responding to ―quality-of-life problems‖ – (1) Improving agricultural productivity, (2) Creating new products, (3) Protecting animal and plant health, (4) Promoting sound human nutrition and health, (5) Strengthening children, youth, and families, (6) Revitalizing rural American communities. When looking at their main focus issues, we can see that like ARS, government and its subsidiaries are in the business of keeping the status quo and stifle real research and development. Natural Resources Conservation Service: Eliminated This issue is best left up to the states to determine what is the best way to preserve and protect their environment. The balance of using the resources available for production, conservation, and recreation is best decided by from people in the region.
Foreign Agricultural Services: Eliminated Originally, this agency was created to manage our agricultural trade agreements and the daily/weekly prices of agriculture commodities across the globe. In a world of constant information, we do not need this program putting out daily reports regarding the fluctuations of commodity prices. Forest Service: Reduced 20 percent
Page 5 of 36 Similar to sections of the EPA, the Forest Service has been on the Government Accountability Office’s ―high-risk‖ list for waste, fraud, and abuse. In recent years, Congress has provided the Forest Service with a nearly blank check to address forest fire issues. A strong step for reform would be to eliminate the federal forest subsidies and to start turning many of these forests over to the states or private interests. These states could maintain control over their forests, using them for timber, conservation, or recreation based upon the needs of the environment.
Page 6 of 36 Commerce Agency/Program Commerce Funding Level $6.178 B Savings $5.322 B % Decrease 54%
The Department of Commerce has consistently been labeled for elimination, specifically by House Republicans during the 1990’s. Aside from a few research programs, the department’s main functions are associated with wasteful corporate welfare. The proposal would scale back the Department of Commerce by 54 percent, including additional cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the elimination of a large portion of corporate welfare. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Reduce 36 Percent The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was formed in 1970 to serve as both a physical and atmospheric science agency, as well as for the purpose of commercial fishery conservation. Yet according to the NOAA website, ―Approximately 25 % of NOAA’s annual budget was committed to making progress in understanding the link between our global economy and our planet’s environment.‖ NOAA, like most government agencies, has become bloated and its breadth and scope has broadened over the years. It is time for agencies to focus on the priorities for which they were intended.
Page 7 of 36 Defense Agency/Program Military Funding Level $673.500 B Savings $47.581 B % Decrease 6.5%
National defense is the primary constitutional function of the federal government. However, that does not mean that the Department of Defense should receive a blank check without serious oversight. In order to supply our troops with the tools they need, it makes sense to prioritize spending where it is needed most—rather than to keep borrowing from other countries, many of which we pay to defend. (The United States’ Top 10 creditors: China, Japan, Caribbean Banking Centers, Oil Exporters, Russia, United Kingdom, Brazil, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Taiwan) Since 2001, military expenditure has increased by nearly 120 percent; when you subtract the cost of the two conflicts we are currently fighting that still puts military spending at a 67 percent increase. National defense remains the nation’s No. 1 priority. However, the levels of defense spending are no longer justifiable to securing our country, especially given that our defense spending has surpassed the defense budgets of all other countries combined. Proposing cuts to the Defense budget is no longer an eccentric idea; recently Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, typically the guardian of Defense budgets and often arguing the need for more money, has recently proposed spending cuts totaling $100 billion. That said, even though Secretary Gates’ proposals are genuine, they still allow the DoD to grow into a $1 trillion military by 2030 – nearly the amount we spent on all discretionary spending in 2008. Many of Secretary Gates’ proposals will be included in the $48 billion in Defense spending cuts proposed, but the proposal will also include reduction in spending from programs like realigning the 750 overseas bases in 63 different countries (including the sale of buildings and assets at unused/vacant overseas bases), turning over responsibility for security in Iraq and Afghanistan to local forces, reducing the size of military personnel through natural attrition, reducing the size of the civilian employment, and focusing on waste, fraud, and abuse. The savings proposed are reductions based on FY2011 estimates (Defense is not further reduced to FY2008 levels) Relative to FY2010 levels, this proposal reflects a 2.7 percent decrease of all military spending.
Additional: War funding from 2001 to 2010 has cost the taxpayer $1.109 trillion. That amount doesn’t include the $159 billion that will likely be spent funding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for FY2011. The proposal seeks to reduce war funding for FY2011 by $16 billion, in other words to provide $144 billion (President Obama has requested $117 billion for FY2012, $27 billion dollars below our proposed level).
Page 8 of 36 The proposal includes transferring the primary functions of the Department of Energy to DoD, including nuclear weapon procurement and disposal of nuclear waste. The proposal includes shifting the United States Coast Guard to the DoD, a transfer that will promote uniformity, administrative savings, and reduce duplicative functions. o The United States Coast Guard has long been considered an essential part of our military reediness throughout its long history. Title 14 of the United States Code states ―The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times.‖ Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy. o In 2003, the Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of Transportation to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. Currently, the Coast Guard has been working with the Navy in Operation Iraqi Freedom, anti-piracy operations, and anti-terrorist smuggling organizations. With all this work for the DoD, common sense would suggest a move from the Department of Homeland Security to the DoD.
Page 9 of 36 Education Agency/Program Education Funding Level $16.256 B Savings $78.005 B % Decrease 83%
The mere existence of the Department of Education is an overreach of power by the federal government. State and local governments, parents, and teachers are far better equipped to meet the needs of their students than this redtape laden department, which benefits teachers’ unions more than pupils. However, Pell Grants will be preserved in this proposal. The Department of Education has increasingly meddled with the more traditional idea of education being tailored to the needs and requirement of communities and states. The growth in education spending at the federal level has gone from nearly $53 billion in 2001 to an estimated $95 billion in FY2011 – a 80 percent increase. When the federal government spends money, those are resources that are drained from the state, diluted by way of large Washington bureaucracy, and sent back to the school districts with red tape and strings attached. During the first half of the past century, America ranked among the most educated population in the world. Since that time, the role of the federal government in education has expanded significantly, at one point (FY2009) accounting for 10 percent of all government spending. The expansion of the role of the federal government in education has been detrimental, as the U.S. now ranks far below other economically developed countries. In December 2010, the OECD reported that the U.S. ranked 14th in reading skills, 17th in science, and 25th in mathematics (considered below average) out of 35 developed nations.
Page 10 of 36 Energy Agency/Program Energy Funding Level $0 Savings $44.186 B % Decrease 100%
Created in 1977, the purpose and intent of the Department of Energy was to regulate oil prices. The DoE today reflects an agency that encompasses national security activities such as nuclear weapon production, maintenance, and cleanup which are better suited for the Department of Defense, and other activities that are nothing more than corporate handouts. In addition, the DoE has provided research grants and subsidies to energy companies for the development of newer, cleaner forms of energy. All forms of energy development are subsidized by the federal government, from oil to nuclear, wind, solar, and bio-fuels, however these subsidies and research are often centered on forms of energy that can survive without subsidies. This drives the cost of energy up for all American taxpayers. The market has always provided new forms of energy development without governmental interference; it is time for the free market to start taking the reins. .
Page 11 of 36 Health and Human Services Agency/Program HHS [Discretionary Only] Funding Level $72.493 Savings $26.510 B % Decrease 26%
The Department of Health and Human Services is the largest department in the federal government. The department includes programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, as well as other entitlement programs. HHS, and the programs within, remains one of the government’s largest challenges – and among the largest contributors to our fiscal crisis. In fact, Medicare alone has a $38 trillion unfunded liability, and will continue to grow until it eventually consumes all government outlays. Unfortunately, there are a number of individuals who have failed to set aside savings, or have failed to plan adequately based on the assumption that they would be eligible for certain entitlement programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. These programs need to be reformed, not necessarily just cut, and therefore, this proposal does not include most of the mandatory spending at the HHS. However, because the department is so large, it would have been negligent to avoid other areas which can provide much needed government savings. This proposal takes most of the agency’s discretionary programs back to FY2008 levels, and makes further reductions to the Public Health Service programs. Food and Drug Administration: Reduce 62 Percent The Food and Drug Administration is another example of an agency that continues to expand every year in power and funding. New FDA powers granted by the recent Food Safety Modernization Act provide examples of the most recent growth of federal government overreach, granting the government further intrusion into the nation’s food supply. Health Resources and Services Administration: Reduce 34 Percent One way to combat illegal immigration is to remove the benefits our country provides to non-citizens. The Health Resources and Services Administration provides funding for 1,645 free health clinics for migrant workers all over the United States, contributing to the incentives for illegal immigrants to take advantage of our country and its taxpayers. These clinics are an unnecessary burden, and do not serve the interests of Americans.
Page 12 of 36 Indian Health Services: Reduce 46 Percent The federal government’s Indian Health Services agency is notoriously wrought with fraud. A June 2009 Government Accountability Office reports that ―millions of dollars in property and equipment continue to be lost or stolen.‖ It is time to put an end to this blatant government waste and tighten the belt on such programs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Reduce 28 Percent The annual budget for the Centers for Disease Control also keeps increasing annually, in spite of ―cost-saving efforts‖ by the department in the way of travel expenses and contract reductions to the tune of $100 million. It seems no matter how much money is appropriated to this or any government agency, they find a ―need‖ for it. It is time for the CDC to work aggressively to find savings in other areas, particularly focusing on domestic priorities rather than spending billions on overseas initiatives. National Institute of Health: Reduce 37 Percent President Obama’s FY2011 budget calls for a $1 billion increase in funding to the National Institutes for Health. Reducing federal grants in this area would realize billions in savings. Each of the HHS cuts called for in this proposal will stop the bleeding in these ever-increasing budgets.
Page 13 of 36 Homeland Security Agency/Program Homeland Security Funding Level $30.958 Savings $23.765 B % Decrease 43%
The Department Homeland Security was created after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and since then has been plagued by waste, fraud, and extensive bureaucracy. The proposal transfers the United States Coast Guard to the Department of Defense, reduces Transportation Security Administration funding, and decreases remaining program funding to FY2008 levels. Transportation Security Administration: Reduce 40 Percent Following the 9/11 attacks, the Transportation Safety Administration has provided the majority of airport security screeners across the country. A number of airports however, (17 in a recent count) have replaced TSA screeners with private contractors. Kansas City International Airport was the first airport to use private screeners as opposed to the TSA. Kansas City Airport director Mark VanLoh said in an NPR article, ―In my opinion, these contract employees – they’re not federal employees; they’re not guaranteed a job for life. If they don’t meet performance goals, or maybe they’re consistently rude, or maybe they miss objects that go through the machine, they are terminated.‖ GAO has stated concerning the use of private screeners ―The private screening under federal supervision works and performs statistically significantly better, so our main purpose here is in getting better screening and better performance, not to mention that we can get better cost for the taxpayer.‖ Currently TSA has over 67,000 employees across the United States and screeners have plans to unionize, which can and will drive up costs to the American taxpayer. In 2005, The Washington Post published a story, ―The High Cost of a Rush to Security,‖ a small taste of the tremendous waste produced by the Transportation Security Administration at DHS: TSA Lost Control of Over $300 Million Spent by Contractor to Hire Airport Screeners After 9/11 By Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr. Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, June 30, 2005 The money was spent in the name of improving security at the nation's airports:
Page 14 of 36 $526.95 for one phone call from the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago to Iowa City. $1,180 for 20 gallons of Starbucks Coffee -- $3.69 a cup -- at the Santa Clara Marriott in California. $1,540 to rent 14 extension cords at $5 each per day for three weeks at the Wyndham Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo. $8,100 for elevator operators at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. $5.4 million claimed for nine months' salary for the chief executive of an "event logistics" firm that received a contract before it was incorporated and went out of business after the contract ended. Those details are contained in a federal audit that calls into question $303 million of the $741 million spent to assess and hire airport passenger screeners for the newly created Transportation Security Administration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The audit, along with interviews with people involved in the passenger-screener contract, paints a rare and detailed portrait of how officials at the fledgling agency lost control of the spending in the pell-mell rush to hire 60,000 screeners to meet a one-year congressional deadline. The audit, performed by the Defense Contract Audit Agency at the TSA's behest, spotlights scores of expenses: $20-an-hour temporary workers billed to the government at $48 per hour, subcontractors who signed out $5,000 in cash at a time with no supporting documents, $377,273.75 in unsubstantiated longdistance phone calls, $514,201 to rent tents that flooded in a rainstorm, $4.4 million in "no show" fees for job candidates who did not appear for tests. The audit faulted the prime contractor, NCS Pearson Inc., which was hired by the TSA to test, interview, fingerprint, medically evaluate and pre-certify the candidates. The audit said Pearson failed to properly justify costs and improperly awarded subcontracts without competitive bidding. The audit also said the company demonstrated a "lack of management or oversight of subcontractors." One of the audit's key revelations is that a decision to move the hiring process from Pearson's 925 U.S. private assessment centers to 150 hotels and other meeting facilities added at least $343 million to the cost of the contract, according to an estimate by Pearson. The company said it was ordered to make the change by the TSA, which said it made the decision in collaboration with Pearson.
Page 15 of 36 The decision also reduced the time Pearson had to evaluate and hire 60,000 screeners from 32 weeks to 14 because the TSA delayed the schedule, the company said. Pearson later said the decision forced the company to hire a small army of subcontractors, whose invoices and charges are at the heart of the spending highlighted in the audit. "It was a waste of taxpayer's money," said Patrick Cowan, of Denver, who supervised hiring efforts for Pearson at 43 sites in the central part of the country. "There was abuse of the taxpayers' trust. We didn't get the bang for our buck." U.S. Coast Guard: Transfer to Department of Defense at FY2008 Levels The United States Coast Guard has long been considered an essential part of our military readiness throughout its long history. Title 14 of the United States Code states ―The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times.‖ Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy. In 2003, the Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of Transportation to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. Currently, the Coast Guard has been working with the Navy in Operation Iraqi Freedom, antipiracy operations, and anti-terrorist smuggling organizations. With all this work for the Department of Defense, common sense would suggest a move from the Department of Homeland Security to the DoD.
Page 16 of 36 Housing and Urban Development Agency/Program HUD Funding Level $0 Savings $53.082 % Decrease 100%
Public Housing and Rental Subsidies Rather than providing a one-time stop for families on their way out of poverty, public housing has largely been a failure. Public housing projects have become havens of crime and dysfunction, driving away the very business investment and homeowners that would revitalize a city block. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which subsidizes construction or rehabilitation of low-income housing, is a perfect example of market manipulation that does nothing to further the mission of public housing. The structure of the credit encourages projects to focus on particularly low-income areas, exacerbating the concentration of poverty within cities. The tax credit is also allocated to areas where few housing affordability problems exist. Finally, the program does nothing to facilitate its goal of lower rents – developers pocket $4 billion in annual tax credits while the rents in the buildings constructed under the program are generally no lower than they would have been in the absence of the program. Replacing public housing with Section 8 vouchers has not improved upon delivery of services – in a landmark story by Atlantic Monthly on the rise of community crime rates associated with Section 8 vouchers, Urban Institute expert Susan Popkin said that the voucher program ―has not lived up to its promise. It has not lifted people out of poverty, it has not made them self-sufficient, and it has left a lot of people behind.‖ Furthermore, Section 8 vouchers remain an open-ended benefit that recipients can remain on permanently. There are no mandatory time limits and no work requirements. Families or individuals can stay as long as they want. And since the Section 8 voucher is linked to income, Section 8 recipients have very little incentive to expand their income or seek personal advancement. And why would they? The Section 8 benefit is large – the value of a New York City Housing Authority voucher for a two-bedroom apartment in 2010 was $1,543 a month. As a result, subsidized tenants remain stuck in public housing and Section 8 buildings for years, even decades. They remain tied to a low-income area, preventing the community from enjoying the natural changes and upgrading over time, and preventing themselves from improving and advancing their lives.
Page 17 of 36
Contributions to the Housing Crisis Policies perpetuated by HUD and its related agencies played a key role fostering subprime lending that brought the financial system to its knees in 2008. By implementing policies that expanded risky mortgages to under qualified borrowers, HUD is directly implicated in the loss of over 1 million homes in 2008. Three of HUD’s policies had a direct impact on the housing crisis that still plagues many parts of the country today: Loosening down-payment standards on mortgages guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA was originally founded to provide liquidity in the mortgage market by insuring mortgage loans made by private firms to qualified borrowers. Their standards for qualification continued to relax – by 2004, the required down payment on the FHA’s most popular mortgage program had fallen to only 3 percent. Mortgages with very low down payments have historically had very high default rates. In its rush to meet affordable housing goals, FHA was putting unqualified borrowers into mortgages they couldn’t afford. In September, 2010, a report by the HUD inspector general revealed that in FY 2009, serious flaws in the FHA’s automated underwriting process resulted in more than $6.1 billion in loans winning automatic approval for FHA insurance even though these borrowers had too much debt and posed a greater risk of default. Strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act The Community Reinvestment Act requires commercial banks to report the extent to which they lend funds back into the neighborhoods where they gather deposit. In 1995, regulators were allowed to deny a bank the ability to merge with another bank if their CRA ratings were low. This implicit pressure to lend resulted in some banks distributing mortgages to low-income borrowers previously considered non credit-worthy. HUD’s Pressure to Lend Congress exerted pressure on HUD to put more low-income families into their own homes. As a result HUD required that the two government-chartered mortgage finance firms – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – purchase far more ―affordable‖ loans made to these borrowers. For 1996, HUD required that 42 percent of Fannie and Freddie’s mortgage financing had to go to borrowers with income below the median in their area. The target increased to 50 percent in 2000 and 52 percent in 2005.
Page 18 of 36 However, the agency neglected to examine whether borrowers could make the payments on the loans that Fannie and Freddie classified as affordable. From 2004 to 2006, the two GSE’s purchased $434 billion in securities backed by subprime loans, creating a market for more lending of the same type.
Page 19 of 36 Interior Agency/Program Interior Funding Level $3.111 B Savings $10.934 B % Decrease 78%
The Department of Interior is responsible for managing millions of acres of land, forests and parks, as well as building dams. The department has consistently been given poor management ratings by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, and provides many functions that could be reduced or privatized. This proposal includes taking many programs back to FY2008 levels, and includes additional cuts or elimination of certain programs, including the Land and Mineral Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. Land and Mineral Management: Reduce 50 percent The management of public lands and resources is best left up to the states. States have firsthand knowledge about what is good for them and the best ways to use their lands for energy, recreation, and natural beauty. Bureau of Reclamation: Eliminate Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation has held a majority of the dams, hydroelectric power plants, and canals in the western most 17 states. They are the largest wholesaler of water in the country and provide water for farmers in those states. Owning a majority block of energy and water resources is not the business of the federal government. Water rights should be controlled by the states and agreements can be made between the states to ensure water supply to all. U.S. Geological Survey: Reduce 29 percent The U.S. Geological Survey is the largest water, earth, and biological science civilian mapping agency in the United States. Though these are important activities, they can be given to state researchers at our colleges and universities, without having large numbers of regional executives and multiple offices. National Park Service: Reduce 42 percent In 2009, repairs were performed on the Vietnam Memorial and those repairs were done without the use of taxpayer funds. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund took over the duties of preserving the memorial because the National Park Service did not have the resources from the federal government.
Page 20 of 36 Every year the amount of appropriations increase to the National Park Service, yet both the GAO and the Congressional Research Services have stated that NPS’s backlog on projects and maintenance would cost several billion dollars to the American taxpayer. National Parks have seen a decrease in visitors and campers each year due to trash, lack of facilities, or even safety. Returning these public lands back to the states and or the private sector would allow an increase in quality, safety and a reduction in government spending each year. Bureau of Indian Affairs: Eliminate For far too long, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has swindled and mismanaged billions of dollars in Indian trust funds. Former Special Trustee Thomas Slonaker in 2004 testified that they Department of the Interior and the BIA were incapable of reform and were unwilling to hold people accountable for their actions. In addition, Paul Homan also has testified before Congress saying that a ―vast majority of upper and middle management at the BIA were incompetent. Instead of wasting taxpayer funds throwing money into a bureau of corruption and incompetency, eliminate them and allow the tribes to manage their own trust funds independently without government intervention.
Page 21 of 36 Justice Agency/Program Justice Funding Level $22.867 B Savings $9.057 B % Decrease 28%
In recent decades, the Department of Justice has expanded far beyond its traditional role, pushing aside many of the law enforcement activities that were originally designated to state and local governments. In addition, the department has become an avenue to channel politically popular law enforcement funding and grants to states, many of which are consistently highlighted by government auditors such as GAO for their incessant amount of waste, fraud, and abuse. The proposal reduces the department back to FY2008 levels, and completely eliminates the Office of Justice Programs. Office of Justice Programs: Eliminated The Office of Justice Programs does not directly carry out law enforcement or justice activities, rather OJP performs studies on the pressing crime-related challenges that confront the justice system and provides grants to try and help cities and counties reduce their crime rates. In effect, OJP has evolved into a multi-billion dollar subsidy to the budgets of local governments. Since 1996, GAO has had strong concerns over OJP’s ability to monitor the use of grants given to cities and counties and if they have been used properly. Some programs, like ―neighborhood watch‖ have little to no impact on crime rates. In addition, GAO has also determined their evaluation process on the effectiveness of the programs needs to be reformed. The value of these programs is hard to prove because of the difficulty in showing the programs were the direct cause of any decrease in crime. Each state, county, and city communities and police departments are forced to address many different forms of crime. The federal government can set guidelines on how to address criminal issues, but only the states and local communities can determine what the best way to counter and deter violence and crime.
Page 22 of 36 Labor Agency/Program Labor Funding Level $135.676 B Savings $2.803 B % Decrease 2%
In recent years, the Department of Labor has expanded substantially, with a large of amount of the increased funding coming from the expansion of unemployment benefits of up to 99 weeks. While this proposal exempts unemployment benefits from receiving funding cuts, the program will need to be reformed in the future, including a re-evaluation of the emergency unemployment benefits, as well as the extended unemployment benefits that provide up to 99 weeks – or nearly 2 years of unemployment benefits. Many economists have warned that prolonged unemployment benefits can increase unemployment duration by delaying individuals’ incentive to search for work. The proposal exempts the Employment and Training Administration (including UI benefits), Mine Safety and Health, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. However, this proposal eliminates all other Department of Labor programs.
Page 23 of 36 State Agency/Program State Funding Level $8.424 B Savings $20.321 B % Decrease 71%
Despite billions of dollars spent in attempts to prop up economically weak countries, U.S. foreign aid has had almost an opposite effect. In the 1990s, a Clinton administration task force found that despite decades of foreign assistance, most of Africa and parts of Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East are economically worse off today than they were 20 years ago. In 2000, the Meltzer Commission found that the World Bank and organizations like it spent record levels backing projects in developing nations, only to have 55 to 60 percent of them fail because the money went to poorly managed economies where the money was either squandered by corrupt officials or imprudently spent. Instead of reaching the people who need it, foreign aid has increased the size of the state rather than the welfare of the people. After reviewing aid flowing to 95 countries, researchers at the London School of Economics found that virtually all the aid went toward consumption. It did not increase investment in growth, nor benefit the poor. But it did increase the size of government. Historical examples tell us the same: From 1961 to 1989, the U.S. sent well over $2 billion in aid to India, almost all of which went to the Indian state. Similarly, in the 1980s and 90s, African economists frequently complained that 90 percent of U.S. aid to sub-Saharan Africa went directly to governments. Finally, there is no evidence that aiding developing nations produces rapid and widespread economic reforms. Though many list South Korea and Taiwan as success stories of U.S. economic assistance, those counties began to take off economically only after massive U.S. aid was cut off. Similarly, numerous studies have disputed the link between aid money and economic reforms. In fact, A 2002 World Bank study admitted that they had been ―overly optimistic about the prospects for reform, thereby contributing to the misallocation of aid.‖
Page 24 of 36 Transportation Agency/Program Transportation Funding Level $43.855 B Savings $4.810 B % Decrease 49%
The Department of Transportation’s main function is to extract tax dollars from the states and then return those dollars back to the states to fund highway, transit, airports and other transportation related programs. The department is notorious for providing Members of Congress an avenue to direct funding and earmarks to their states, which is frequently highlighted by the press for being wasteful and inefficient. Many states complain of funding that is provided for projects that are not needed and the associated increase in overall costs. For example, due to the many provisions included in transportation funding, such as the Buy-America clause, it is estimated federally funded projects cost nearly twice as much as the amount a state would pay for the same project. The proposal includes funding the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration at the level of projected gas tax revenue of $37 billion. The proposal eliminates Amtrak subsidies, and reduces the remainder of the department back to FY2008 levels, with an additional reduction of 20 percent. Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration: Funded at Gas Tax Levels Established in in 1956, the U.S. Highway Trust fund uses excise taxes off the sale of gasoline to fund three major programs – mostly highways, a much smaller account for mass transit, and an even smaller fund to address leaking underground storage tanks. Currently, the American consumer pays 18.4 cents per gallon in taxes to fund this trust fund. Because of changes to the laws governing the trust fund, the fund no longer just had to be used for highways, but could be used for any form of transportation – bike lanes, subway systems, etc., that may not use the amounts of fuel needed to sustain the program. Because of the constant depletion of the trust fund by departments that are unaffiliated with the highway system, additional taxpayer funds are forced to be used to accommodate the $52 billion FY2010 budget of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. The current push to reduce emissions and make vehicles more energy efficient will only leave the American taxpayer more on the hook for mismanagement of funds. Setting a cap on these two programs at the amount of excise tax collected will require the federal government to prioritize road projects more efficiently and places decision making and implementation of road maintenance where it can be done best - the states. Amtrak Subsidies: Eliminate
Page 25 of 36 Created by an act of Congress in 1970 to provide passenger rail service, Amtrak has yet to turn a yearly profit. During its first 35 years, federal assistance amounted to approximately $30 billion. Yet from FY2007 to FY2010 that number has increased by $7 billion. Of the 44 routes and 21,000 miles of track the trains travel over, only 625 miles are actually owned by Amtrak. Congress has forced freight rail companies to allow Amtrak to use the lines the freight rail companies own and maintain. We need to allow the states to have a greater say in trail service between their cities. To provide better service, Amtrak must learn to make the difficult decisions on routes and coverage to develop a sound business model, which will push them toward becoming profitable.
Page 26 of 36 Corps of Engineers Agency/Program Corps of Engineers Funding Level $5.075 B Savings $1.854 B % Decrease 27%
Many in Congress as well as those with the Corps of Engineers have been opposed to consolidation of services due to institutional and communal structures. According to the Government Accountability Office in September 2010, ―The Corps has faced and will likely continue to face challenges to any realignment effort: (1) inability to gain congressional support, (2) limitations of its funding structure, and (3) the autonomous culture of its districts.‖ In addition, the Corps’ incremental project-based appropriations and cost-sharing requirements create an impediment to realignment. With the communications resources we now have in this country there is no justification for 38 separate Corps districts across our country. Most telling is the majority of division and district commanders the GAO interviewed said the Corps’ technical guidance is outdated by 10 to 15 years, causing different divisions and districts to execute projects differently.
Page 27 of 36 Environmental Protection Agency Agency/Program EPA Funding Level $7.939 B Savings $3.238 B % Decrease 29%
Since 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency has worked to enforce greenhouse gas regulations on business without Congressional approval. We have seen EPA’s budgets significantly increase in administrative costs to process and handle the regulations they write. Even with the budget increases, EPA process for assessing and controlling toxic chemicals has continued to stay on GAO’s High-Risk List for potential waste, fraud, and abuse. From the High Risk List of 2009, ―GAO recently reported that EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) – a database that contains EPA’s scientific position on the potential human health effects of exposure to more than 540 chemicals – is at serious risk of becoming obsolete because the agency has not been able to complete timely, credible assessments or decrease its backlog of 70 ongoing assessments. Overall, EPA has finalized a total of only 9 assessments in the past 3 fiscal years.‖ Toxic chemicals are not the only areas EPA is falling behind. Their delay on approving mining and drilling permits has costs thousands of jobs across our country.
Page 28 of 36 General Services Administration Agency/Program GSA Funding Level $343 M Savings $1.936 B % Decrease 85%
The Government Services Administration is yet another example of a government agency formed with the purpose of serving other government agencies. Part of expecting the government to run in a streamlined fashion is expecting agencies to be capable of managing their own real estate, travel necessities, and supply purchases. Having an agency dedicated to providing the infrastructure for big government only facilitates the further growth of government.
Page 29 of 36 International Assistance Programs Agency/Program International Aid Funding Level $0 Savings $24.343 B % Decrease 100%
The people of the United States are some of the most generous individuals anywhere in the world. When a tsunami hit Indonesia and an earthquake hit Haiti in recent years, Americans opened their wallets and hearts to help provide assistance to those in need. Taxpayer dollars spent on official development assistance (ODA) have been wasted through a failed assistance giving model. The ODA model gives funding in a top-down format without feedback or accountability of how the funds are used. In some developing countries, aid is horded by top officials without reaching those most in need. Instead of giving countries a hand up, we continue to give them handouts, leaving them welfare dependent. Private-sector trade and investment are the best combination of development countries need to improve their financial standing.
Page 30 of 36 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Agency/Program NASA Funding Level $13.375 Savings $4.488 B % Decrease 25%
With the presence of private industries involved in space exploration and even space tourism, it is time for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to step aside and allow innovation to flourish. Looking at ways to reduce NASA’s spending is long overdue. In addition, NASA has consistently been flagged by organizations like Citizens Against Government Waste, which most recently highlighted NASA’s multibillion-dollar Constellation program, a project that has been focused on the exploration of the moon and Mars. Despite spending more than $10 billion on this program, NASA has made very little progress since the program’s inception. Finally, since President Obama has determined to realign the goals of NASA away from human exploration, and more on science and ―global warming‖ research, the need to fund the agency at levels not consistent with the goals of the past provides the opportunity to direct funds toward deficit reduction.
Page 31 of 36 National Science Foundation Agency/Program NSF Funding Level $2.924 B Savings $4.723 B % Decrease 62%
Research in science is best conducted by private industry for economic purposes. States are also best positioned to direct funding in their own K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities.
Page 32 of 36 Office of Personnel Management Agency/Program OPM Funding Level $2.924 B Savings $9.070 B % Decrease 12.3%
The Office of Personnel Management is notorious for its red tape. Responsible for hiring federal employees – who earn double the salaries of their private sector counterparts (USA Today, March 3, 2010) – the agency has a reputation of poor performance in hiring, which even President Obama has scolded and sought to reform. However, more has to be done to streamline the processes of this behemoth of an organization that is a perfect example of government growth and waste.
Page 33 of 36 Other Independent Agencies Agency/Program Independent Agencies Funding Level ----Savings $2.048 B % Decrease -----
Plenty of independent and efficient consumer groups exist throughout the United States, and Consumer Reports is just one example. It is time that the federal government retreats from such services, as its presence in this arena is unnecessary and was never intended in the first place. The Founding Fathers did not envision a government that included funding for the arts. They understood that what one citizen may see as a favorable artistic expression may offend another. This is why the arts are better left to private support; it is not government’s role to pick and choose which artists should be subsidized. No media outlet should exist which requires government support to survive; especially in the case of NPR, which makes no apologies for its often one-sided, government subsidized options. Further, PBS has produced many hit television shows that will be able to produce revenue for continued broadcasting; as it is, public dollars are subsidizing the creation and growth of lucrative brands that generate millions of dollars of merchandising revenues. The American taxpayer deserves better. Affordable Housing Program – Eliminated Commission on Fine Arts – Eliminated Consumer Product Safety Commission – Eliminated Corporation for Public Broadcasting – Eliminated National Endowment of Arts – Eliminated National Endowment for Humanities – Eliminated Privative the Smithsonian Institution – Privatized State Justice Institute - Eliminated
Page 34 of 36 Federal Communications Commission Agency/Program FCC Funding Level $7.650 B Savings $2.150 B % Decrease 22%
There is no reason for the rapid expansion of this agency, which monitors and regulates the speech of the airways. Continued funding growth will only encourage the Federal Communications Commission to continue trying to expand its power in the lives of individuals and businesses, such as its recent steps to regulate the Internet without congressional authority.
Page 35 of 36 Miscellaneous Agency/Program Misc Funding Level ------Savings $43.481 B % Decrease -------
Collection of Delinquent Taxes: Saves $3 billion Every year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publishes the Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative (FERDI). This summary report shows the amount of civilian, military, and retired federal employees who are delinquent in their federal income taxes. In 2008, the FERDI showed $3.04 billion in back taxes owed. The amount has grown to $3.31 billion in 2009. Federal Pay Freeze: Saves $2 billion During this recession, while most Americans have been forced to cut back, the amount of spending by the federal government has drastically increased. Many Americans are without jobs and many more are not receiving pay raises. Federal employees already receive generous pay and benefits, and President Obama has recently endorsed this proposal. Reducing Federal Travel: Saves $7.5 billion Since the implementation of the requirement that all federal employees use travel charge cards to pay for the expenses of official government travel, the dollar volume of travel card transaction has increased from $4.39 billion in FY1999 to $8.93 billion in FY2009. Audits have found significant weaknesses in internal controls over travel card use, which costs the government millions this year. Examples of card misuse by federal employees include unauthorized trips with premium seating, reimbursements for airline tickets that were never purchased and even laser eye surgery. Auditors have also determined some federal agencies have not collected reimbursements for millions of dollars’ worth of unused airline tickets. With rapid and continuing improvements in communications technology, the need for face-to-face meetings is no longer necessary. Repeal Davis-Bacon: Saves $6 billion The Davis-Bacon Act requires employers to pay workers at least the locally prevailing wage and fringe benefits on federal construction projects of more than $2,000. The Department of Labor publishes Davis-Bacon prevailing wages in four types of construction: residential, building, highway, and heavy construction. In 2008, for metropolitan areas,
Page 36 of 36 Davis-Bacon prevailing wages rates for all projects were 62.4 percent higher than the average hourly wages reported by the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES). Davis-Bacon forces government contractors to pay wages that are higher than they normally would. These wages increase the cost of the federal construction project, without increasing the labor productivity, quality, or timeliness in completing the project. End TARP: Saves $4.5 billion Originally described as a $700 billion bailout, TARP never approaches the capped price. Following the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, TARP was restructured. Within this restructuring, the cap was lowered to $475 billion, and the Secretary of the Treasury no longer had the authority to reuse paid back TARP funds or sold assets. The September 2010 Outlay of TARP funds report put out by Treasury comparing committed amounts and actual disbursements, shows a $87.39 billion savings if no more money was disbursed. Sell Unused Federal Assets: Saves $19 billion Currently, the government owns or leases 3.87 billion square feet of property. In addition to the property, the federal government owns or leases 55.7 million acres of land. For every 40 acres of land in the United States, 1 acre is owned by the government. Citizens Against Government Waste estimates these holdings to be worth $1.2 trillion. Of that property the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) claims more than 21,800 federal properties are abandoned assets, which could be sold for approximately $19 billion. Reduce Federal Vehicle Budget: Saves $600 million The federal government owns approximately 652,000 cars and trucks in their fleet of vehicles. General maintenance on these vehicles is an annual expense of $4 billion. Since 2006, the amount of vehicles owned by the government has increased by 20,000 and operating costs have increased by 5.4 percent. It is not unreasonable to ask all agencies to slow down acquiring new vehicles and decrease the number of miles driven to help drive reduce cost of general maintenance.
