The Highland County Press - Addressing Washington's Waste

Op-Ed

by U.S. Sen. Dan Coats

People often ask me about Washington's overspending. They want to know what can be done about our nation's debt and deficit problems and why the federal government spends more than it takes in each year.

Taxpayers deserve answers to these questions. When Americans send their tax dollars to Washington, they expect their leaders to be good stewards of these resources. Taxpayers don't waste their own money, and they expect that Washington won't either.

Unfortunately, the opposite is happening. Seemingly every day, we see examples of mismanagement and wasteful spending in Washington.

This year alone the federal government is slated to increase the deficit by $468 billion. Our total federal debt sits at over $18 trillion and has increased by roughly 70 percent since President Obama took office.

Some say the solution to these problems is increasing federal revenue, which is another way of saying we should raise taxes. I reject this approach, because Washington doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Current tax revenues are at historic levels, but the federal government's spending still outpaces its income.

Given these fiscal realities, Hoosiers have a right to expect that I will fight for responsible spending. In prior years, I have offered amendments or supported legislative fixes for ineffective programs, but recently I launched a new initiative that I am calling "Waste of the Week."

Each week, I will speak on the Senate floor and share real examples of Washington's waste. I want to raise awareness of simple ways Congress can reduce the debt that will burden our children and grandchildren.

My "Waste of the Week" initiative is now in its second month, and so far I have highlighted several instances of wasteful federal spending, some large and some small.

A few examples:

* Double dipping in Social Security Disability Insurance and Unemployment Insurance benefits (Total waste: $5.7 billion).

* Duplication in federal economic development programs (Total waste: $200 million over ten years).

* Funding for studies that give massages to New Zealand rabbits (Total waste: $387,000).

These are just a few examples of how Congress can take small, but meaningful action to cut spending.

We can't solve our country's debt and deficit problems overnight, but we can take much-needed steps in the right direction.

Over the course of 2015, I plan to highlight how Washington can rack up $100 billion in savings for taxpayers. Some of this potential savings could be achieved through policy changes, with other savings generated by cutting off funding for existing duplicative or unnecessary programs.

Feel free to follow along at www.coats.senate.gov/waste.

Future generations of Americans must not be saddled with a legacy of oppressive debt. We cannot avoid this problem any longer, and time is of the essence.

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