Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Floor Speech on Debt Ceiling July 19 2011


Oppose Any Increase in the Debt Ceiling
Call Your Congressman
Tell him to cut programs:
Dept of Education,
Dept. of Agriculture,
Homeland Security
Welfare State
War Budgets
Foreign Aid


These are all the programs that the new Republican House has proposed cutting. There is nothing here we can’t live without!

  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
  • Save America 's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
  • International Fund for Ireland . $17 million annual savings.
  • Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.
  • National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.
  • Hope VI Program. $250 million annual savings.
  • Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual savings.
  • Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually.
  • U.S. Trade Development Agency. $55 million annual savings.
  • Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million annual savings.
  • Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47 million annual savings.
  • John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings.
  • Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
  • Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.
  • Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings
  • Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings.
  • Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.
  • Technology Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings.
  • Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. $125 million annual savings.
  • Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings. Eliminate DoE all together. (*see note at bottom) 2012 budget request: $29.5 billion.
  • Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings.
  • New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.
  • Exchange Programs for Alaska , Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts . $9 million annual savings
  • Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings.
  • Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.
  • Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.
  • Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings.
  • Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15 billion annual savings.
  • Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings.
  • FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings.
  • Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings.
  • Economic Assistance to Egypt . $250 million annually.
  • U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual savings.
  • General Assistance to District of Columbia . $210 million annual savings.
  • Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million annual savings.
  • Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.
  • No funding for federal office space acquisition. $864 million annual savings.
  • End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services.
  • Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
  • IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (such as processing payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion savings over ten years.
  • Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion total !!!
  • Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees.$1.2 billion savings over ten years.
  • Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15 billion total savings.
  • Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress.
  • Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings.
  • Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings
  • Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings.
  • USDA Sugar Program. $14 million annual savings.
  • Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). $93 million annual savings.
  • Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program. $56.2 million annual savings.
  • Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.
  • Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings..
  • HUD Ph.D. Program.
  • Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act.

1 comment:

Nick Jesch said...

This list is amazing. There is NO END to the places the Feds send OUR money, and NO accounting for the "benefits" we theoretically "get" for all that money.

Ya know, a few years back here in Washington State, we had a citizens' initiative on the ballot to take away the annual "use tax" on vehicles.. a system much like California's based in the assumed "value" of the vehicle, and replace it with a flat $30 per year for licenses. When it passed, everyone was SO astounded at all the government programs that were funded by the registration fees... when the money was SUPPOSED to go toward highway repairs, safety, etc. No one had ever dreamed so much money was going for so much fluff until the programs had to be cut.. or funded from other revenues. And most of these programs are ones government have NO BUSINESS meddling into. NOT THEIR MANDATE to do all that stuff.

Yes, there is a need for a total overhaul. I'd add farm subsidies, biofuel subsidies, the INterstate Commerce Commission, "Head Start:, school lunch programs, subsidies for local bus service, wind power subsidies, well, in reality, about two thirds of everything Uncle Stupid does.. or pretends to do. Maybe that would leave a few bucks for them to DO more of the things they are SUPPOSED to do.. such as secure our borders against foreign invaders.