Here are this week’s YouCut proposals — spending cut proposals from among choices posted online. The most popular ideas go to a House vote. U.S. Representative Eric Cantor notes that “[o]ur nation’s debt grows by $4.9 billion every day.”
Last week, I voted for cutting funding of major parties’ political conventions. That wasn’t the highest-yielding of the proposed cuts, but I think that government has no place subsidizing a political convention (and both major parties have more than enough money to hold conventions without a subsidy). Most respondents voted for prohibiting the hiring of new IRS agents to enforce the health care law.
Here are the five cuts from which one can select a preference this week (they’re runners up to previous weeks’ winners):
- Consolidate and Reduce Funding for Federal Advisory Committees (Savings $34 million next year and $340 million over ten years)
- Terminate Duplicative Federal Bicycle and Walking Program (Saves $183 million a year or $1.8 billion over ten years)
- Suspend Federal Land Purchases (Saves $266 million next year and $2.66 billion over ten years)
- Require Collection of Unpaid Taxes From Federal Employees (Savings of potentially $1 billion +)
- Taxpayer Subsidized Union Activities (Saves potentially $120 million a year and $1.2 billion over ten years)
Descriptions of each of these proposed cuts are available at the YouCut website.
This week, I voted for requiring federal employees to pay any back taxes they owe — Require Collection of Unpaid Taxes from Federal Employees (Savings of potentially $1 billion +). Collection efforts should begin with those who draw a federal salary.