Boehner makes a point

If government spending ... causes economic growth, as the president believes, then the economy today should be booming..."

--Speaker John Boehner

 

As of July 2011, these were some of the budget cuts proposed by House Republicans:

• 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.
• 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.
• Freedom CAR 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 savings. WHAT?!!!!!
• 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.

 

• TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.5 Trillion over 10 Yrs.

 

Comments

[Mannie Sherberg]

The sage Samuel Johnson wrote, in a famous letter to Boswell, "Whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty." Our not-so-sage Sugar-Daddy-in-Chief has apparently never heard of Dr. Johnson -- and, if he has, has never taken him to heart. Profligates like Obama are incapable of saving $2.5 trillion over 10 years or over 10 lifetimes. Boehner's list proves the wisdom of the adage "Waste not, want not." Every item on the list is a waste of money, and every item contributes to the gnawing want afflicting our country. Until 2017, at the earliest, we'll continue to waste and continue to want. And more and more of our liberty will be destroyed.

[Elan]

The "death gratuity" for members of Congress is one-year's pay ($174,000) for a member who dies in office. I have an idea: let's make every member of Congress carry life insurance! Why should the rest of us pay for people who are freeloading even after they die? They should make a "shared responsibity payment" every year they are alive. Call it the Individual [Member] Mandate, and call the program Elancare. This may run into some opposition in Congress, but really, they should be thanking me.