Congress is statutorily obligated to pass a budget by October 1 of each year; yet, as of August 1, 2011, it has been 824 days since the Senate last passed a budget (April 29, 2009). Lawmakers have abdicated their duty by funding the government through multiple, consecutive short-term continuing resolutions. During this protracted period of indolence, the Senate Budget Committee has spent more than $12 million in taxpayer funds on staff salaries and other extraneous expenses, while Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) office has spent in excess of $5 million.
CCAGW Supports Boehner’s Budget Control Act
With the clock ticking and the nation’s economic future hanging in the balance, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) urged all members of Congress to support House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) Budget Control Act of 2011. The Congressional Budget Office found that the Budget Control Act would reduce the deficit by $22 billion in fiscal year 2012 and $917 billion over 10 years, which is greater than the $900 billion debt ceiling increase.
President Obama’s “Campaign to Cut Waste” Has Lackluster Prospects
On June 13, 2011, President Obama issued an Executive Order mandating a “renewed effort to hunt down misspent tax dollars in every agency and department of this government.” The President announced the so-called “Campaign to Cut Waste” by posting a short video message on youtube.com. Vice-President Joe Biden will lead the campaign, which will initially consolidate or eliminate some 500 federally maintained websites. The video specifically targeted several federal websites as a part of the initial effort, including a website dedicated to the desert tortoise, a page featuring a forest rangers’ folk music group called the Fiddlin’ Foresters, the National Invasive Species Council’s homepage, and another webpage with information about the International Polar Year, which ended in 2008.
States Need More Flexibility, Fewer Mandates to Manage Medicaid
Lawmakers are scrambling to address the staggering $14.29 trillion national debt and a vote to raise the debt ceiling is fast approaching. While legislators negotiate cuts to discretionary spending, they must also consider making significant reforms to the nation’s growing entitlement programs.
The Pig Book is Dead, Long Live the Pig Book
Every year around tax day, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) holds its infamous press conference to release the annual Congressional Pig Book, which highlights the most egregious earmarks stuffed by members of Congress into the 12 appropriations bills.
Congress Should Plug the Holes Before It Raises the Roof
As high levels of federal spending persist, the nation is on pace to reach its statutory $14.294 trillion debt limit in mid-May. Debates over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling as well as whether or not to attach provisions to reduce the deficit and debt have ensued. Scare tactics are being employed to compel members of Congress to vote for another increase, or else experience “catastrophic economic consequences” and default on the national debt. Lawmakers face a major dilemma and are gearing up for a fight when Congress reconvenes after the Easter recess.
Obama’s Budget Ignores More Than It Mends
On April 13, 2011, after calls from both sides of the political aisle for leadership on America’s ballooning deficits and debt, President Obama delivered what has been dubbed “The Debt Speech” at George Washington University. It was widely considered a response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) “Path to Prosperity” budget proposal, which lays out a blueprint for reducing federal spending by $6.2 trillion in the coming decade. That budget was approved by the House on April 15, 2011, by a vote of 235-193.
Earmark Moratorium Backlash
After years of feeding at the trough, it appears that some members of Congress are not adapting well to the newly imposed two-year earmark moratorium. Despite affirmation by congressional leaders that earmarks will not exist in the 112th Congress, the pork addicts are chafing under the new strictures.
Future Shock
In the 1986 ad known as “The Deficit Trials,” a young prosecutor speaks on behalf of a poor, tattered generation that by 2017 has suffered the consequences of failing to address what was then a $2 trillion national debt. Today, at $14.3 trillion, or $45,800 for every man, woman and child in America, Washington continues to put off the tough decisions necessary to solve the rapidly growing problem.
Victory!
On February 16, 2011 taxpayers and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) scored a major victory when the House of Representatives voted 233-198 to kill funding for the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter as part of H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Resolution (CR) for fiscal year (FY) 2011. The CR, which cut $100 billion from President Obama’s FY 2011 budget (equal to $61 billion from fiscal year 2010 approved spending levels), was approved by a vote of 235-189. The CR contained 61 spending cuts worth $9.9 billion were either identical or similar to recommendations in CAGW’s Prime Cuts.