Posted by Tina
The Wall Street Journal has reported the proposed cuts that Republicans are suggesting against President Obamas 2011 budget request (which was never taken up in the Pelosi Congress).
Rep. Hal Rogers, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, unveiled a list of 70 spending cuts to be included in the spending bill to fund the federal government for the seven months remaining in fiscal 2011.
This list represents a beginning. Much more work must be done to put our fiscal house in order. As the Republicans push for these and additional changes in the federal budget we can expect complaining from all groups affected by the cuts. What we should be wary of is the political left’s warnings of “draconian” cuts that will “gut” important programs, cause people to “starve” and prevent kids from getting a good education.
The evidence of waste, fraud, duplication of effort, and misappropriation of funds in the government’s tangled bureaucracy is apparent to anyone who bothers to look. The Washington Examiner has an editorial out today that highlights examples of waste:
In West Virginia, Martin Bowling — an admitted thief with a long rap sheet — was the main beneficiary of a $100,000 federal worker training grant, and was put up for another federal job training grant worth $1 million by his mother, a state official at the time.
A Montana trade union that was supposed to manage a half-million-dollar federal job retraining grant spent four times as much on salaries as it did training displaced workers.
Iowa work force executives conspired to enrich themselves with $1.8 million in bonuses — paid for with federal funds — while engaging in sexual relationships and frequenting casinos during work.
A U.S. Department of Labor official approved fraudulent invoices for ghost employees in exchange for cash bribes and a vehicle paid for by a Jobs Corps contractor.
We’ll never klnow how much of our hard earned cash is wasted in this way. But beyond these abuses are programs that could be handled in the private sector or by individuals or groups closer to home. The bottom line is America cannot afford to keep throwing big wads of money at problems pretending that great improvements are the result. So when you hear about the cuts that Republicans are suggesting keep these things in mind and while you’re at it don’t forget the national debt which continues to grow by the second with the interest alone at over $3 trillion.
The proposed budget cuts are listed under the fold:
Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies -$30M
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy -$899M
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability -$49M
Nuclear Energy -$169M
Fossil Energy Research -$31M
Clean Coal Technology -$18M
Strategic Petroleum Reserve -$15M
Energy Information Administration -$34M
Office of Science -$1.1B
Power Marketing Administrations -$52M
Department of Treasury -$268M
Internal Revenue Service -$593M
Treasury Forfeiture Fund -$338M
GSA Federal Buildings Fund -$1.7B
ONDCP -$69M
International Trade Administration -$93M
Economic Development Assistance -$16M
Minority Business Development Agency -$2M
National Institute of Standards and Technology -$186M
NOAA -$336M
National Drug Intelligence Center -$11M
Law Enforcement Wireless Communications -$52M
US Marshals Service -$10M
FBI -$74M
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance -$256M
Juvenile Justice -$2.3M
COPS -$600M
NASA -$379M
NSF -$139M
Legal Services Corporation -$75M
EPA -$1.6B
Food Safety and Inspection Services -$53M
Farm Service Agency -$201M
Agriculture Research -$246M
Natural Resource Conservation Service -$46M
Rural Development Programs -$237M
WIC -$758M
International Food Aid grants -$544M
FDA -$220M
Land and Water Conservation Fund -$348M
National Archives and Record Service -$20M
DOE Loan Guarantee Authority -$1.4B
EPA ENERGY STAR -$7.4M
EPA GHG Reporting Registry -$9M
USGS -$27M
EPA Cap and Trade Technical Assistance -$5M
EPA State and Local Air Quality Management -$25M
Fish and Wildlife Service -$72M
Smithsonian -$7.3M
National Park Service -$51M
Clean Water State Revolving Fund -$700M
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund -$250M
EPA Brownfields -$48M
Forest Service -$38M
National Endowment for the Arts -$6M
National Endowment for the Humanities -$6M
Job Training Programs -$2B
Community Health Centers -$1.3B
Maternal and Child Health Block Grants -$210M
Family Planning -$327M
Poison Control Centers -$27M
CDC -$755M
NIH -$1B
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services -$96M
LIHEAP Contingency fund -$400M
Community Services Block Grant -$405M
High Speed Rail -$1B
FAA Next Gen -$234M
Amtrak -$224M
HUD Community Development Fund -$530M
Cut the war on drugs program completely and legalize marijuana. The savings from cutting the war on drugs would be over 40 billion dollars, and the revenue generated would be over 200 billion dollars.
Thanks for weighing in Richard. A lot of people share your view. On what did you base the $200 billion in “generated’ revenue?