CAGW Releases Prime Cuts 2015
01 April 2015 - 6:35PM
Business Wire
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released Prime
Cuts 2015, the latest edition of the group’s waste-cutting
recommendations that would eliminate unnecessary and ineffective
federal programs and spending. While this comprehensive list of
spending cuts is valuable any time in Washington, it is
particularly useful as Congress continues it is debate on the
federal budget.
Prime Cuts has been published annually since 1993. Since CAGW’s
inception in 1984, the implementation of the group’s
recommendations has saved taxpayers more than $1.4 trillion. The
2015 version comprises 601 recommendations that, if enacted, would
save $639 billion in the first year and $2.6 trillion over five
years.
There are no “sacred cows” in Prime Cuts 2015. With the national
debt at $18.2 trillion, no area of government should be shielded
from spending cuts, including the Department of Defense. One of the
many recommendations in Prime Cuts that would not affect national
security is the elimination of unrequested funds to upgrade the M1
Abrams tank, which would save $120 million in one year and $3
billion over five years. The Pentagon wants to delay the upgrades
until 2017 because it has more than enough tanks, but the project
continues to receive a flood of earmarks due to its broad network
of suppliers in multiple congressional districts.
Prime Cuts 2015 also calls for a 50 percent cut in Medicare
improper payments. Improper payments across the government reached
a record $125 billion in 2014, including $46 billion in Medicare.
The ongoing suspension of certain audits under the Recovery Audit
Contractor program, which has saved $9.7 billion for the Medicare
Trust Fund, is a major cause of the increase. Restoring the audits
would save $24 billion over five years.
The report recommends the privatization of the fiscally
imperiled United States Postal Service (USPS), which has lost $10.5
billion over the last two years. Rather than reforming the USPS by
restricting it to only delivering mail, downsizing its workforce,
and moving its operations to the private sector, postal regulators
seem more interested in allowing the agency to engage in
questionable ventures that are already well-served by
private-sector companies and will certainly fail, such as
delivering groceries and “non-banking” services.
Other recommendations in the document include eliminating the
Market Access Program, which would $1 billion over five years;
eliminating the sugar, dairy, and peanut subsidies, which would
save a combined $12 billion over five years; replacing the $1 bill
with a $1 coin, which would save $730 million over five years;
preventing the Federal Communications Commission from increasing
regulations on the Internet; and, increasing the use of software
asset management.
“By following the blueprint provided by CAGW’s Prime Cuts 2015,
wasteful government spending can be cut and the nation can start on
a path toward fiscal sanity,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz.
“Prime Cuts 2015 is essential reading for taxpayers, the media, and
legislators alike.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor
given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates
who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of
taxpayers.
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)Curtis Kalin,
202-467-5318