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Representative
LaMalfa Calls on President to Change Tactics
on Sequester
Washington, DC – Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA)
issued the following response to the Obama
Administration’s apparent insistence on
choosing the most painful sequester cuts
possible in an effort to increase support
for tax increases:
“It has become clear that the President
and his administration are purposefully
choosing to do harm to the American economy
and people to achieve their political goal
of higher taxes,” stated Representative
LaMalfa. “The President and top
administration officials have been a flying
circus criss-crossing the country to scare
the public, rather than fixing his sequester
plan and minimizing its impact on public
services. As recently as Monday, internal
USDA emails demonstrated a clear intent to
impose the most painful sequester cuts in
order not to ‘contradict the
administration’.”
The across-the-board sequester cuts were
originally proposed by the Obama White House
as part of the 2011 Budget Control Act,
reducing the amount of additional government
spending by $85 billion or 2.3% in 2013.
Even with the reduction, federal spending is
projected to increase $30 billion over 2012
levels.
“House Republicans have twice proposed
sequester replacements with realistic
reductions in spending that protect our
national defense and cut waste, yet neither
the Senate nor the President has acted,”
continued LaMalfa. “President Obama imposed
the largest tax hike in decades this
January, yet he insists on further increases
and refuses to rein in waste. Unfortunately,
the President and his administration seem
more interested in making these minor
reductions as much of an inconvenience as
possible, rather than being serious about
governing.”
Ready alternatives to the President’s
sequester include the following:
·
Reduce Improper Payments: In
2011, by its own estimates, the federal
government made $115 billion in improper
payments. These are instances where people
receive benefits or payments they are not
entitled to receive or for which proper
documentation hasn’t been provided.
·
Reduce Duplication: According
to the non-partisan Government
Accountability Office, the federal
government administers 94 federal
initiatives to foster green building; 15
significant financial literacy programs
across 13 agencies; 173 STEM education
programs across 13 agencies; and 47
job-training programs. Consolidating these
programs would improve their effectiveness
and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Reduce Government Waste: The federal
government wastes billions of taxpayer
dollars every year, including the following:
·
Free Cell Phones: This program
spent $2.2 billion providing free phones in
2013 alone, with at least a third of
recipients found to be ineligible.
·
Obama Healthcare Takeover
Promotion: The federal government spent
$51.6 million last year promoting The Obama
Healthcare takeover and paying public
relations firms.
·
IRS TV Studio: The IRS has a
full-service TV production studio which
costs $4 million annually to operate.
·
Vacation Getaways: The 183
Conferences paid for by federal agencies
over the last several years cost taxpayers
more per attendee than the infamous October
2010 GSA conference in Las Vegas, NV.
·
Property Maintenance: The
federal government spent $1.7 billion in
2010 to maintain property that is not in use
or underutilized.
·
EPA Grants to Foreign
Countries: The EPA has given more than $100
million in grants to foreign countries over
the last ten years.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong
farmer representing California’s First
Congressional District including, Butte,
Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer,
Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama
Counties.
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