Brian M. Riedl of The Heritage Foundation takes to task House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on the Texas Republican’s assertion that the government can declare “victory” in the battle to eliminate wasteful federal spending.
“This comes as quite a surprise to most Americans,” Mr. Riedl writes.
“With federal spending now topping $22,000 per household, polls indicate that 71 percent of Americans are more bothered by how their taxes are spent than by the amount of taxes they pay. The average American believes that about half of his or her tax dollars are wasted.
“The American people have a point. There is so much fat in government spending — from $300 million bridges to islands with 50 residents in Alaska to billions of dollars in overpayments by federal departments — that it is hard to know where to begin. Declarations of victory are, to say the least, rather premature.”
He provides a long list of government pork, including $350,000 recently allocated for the Rock Hall. It’s a pretty depressing read.
http://www.villagesoup.com/commletters/letters.cfm?TopicID=5800
Republican leaders have been under pressure from conservative members and outside watchdog groups to find ways to pay for the Katrina relief. Some Republicans wanted to offer an amendment, including cuts, to pay for hurricane spending but were denied the chance under procedural rules.
"This is hardly a well-oiled machine," said Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican. "There's a lot of fat to trim. ... I wonder if we've been serving in the same Congress."
American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene said federal spending already was "spiraling out of control" before Katrina, and conservatives are "increasingly losing faith in the president and the Republican leadership in Congress."
"Excluding military and homeland security, American taxpayers have witnessed the largest spending increase under any preceding president and Congress since the Great Depression," he said.
Mr. Keene said annual nonmilitary and non-homeland security spending increased $303 billion between fiscal year 2001 and 2005; the acknowledged federal debt increased more than $2 trillion since fiscal year 2000; and the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill is estimated to increase the government's unfunded obligations by $16 trillion."
