Ayotte Statement on Budget Agreement

Statement

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said today that she cannot support the budget agreement that was announced Tuesday because it fails to address the biggest drivers of our nation's skyrocketing debt but instead pays for more federal spending by cutting retirement benefits for active duty and military retirees by $6 billion.

"I cannot support a budget agreement that fails to deal with the biggest drivers of our debt, but instead pays for more federal spending on the backs of our active duty and military retirees - those who have put their lives on the line to defend us. My hope is that both parties can work together to replace these unfair cuts that impact our men and women in uniform with more responsible savings, such as the billions that the Government Accountability Office has identified in waste, duplication and fraud across the federal government."

Ayotte noted that the budget agreement was reached without the input of the full House-Senate budget conference committee, of which she is a member.

The budget agreement includes a provision that would cut military pensions for military retirees and those currently serving who have yet to retire by $6 billion over ten years.

Over the past three years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has uncovered 162 areas of fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in federal agencies - adding up to billions in unnecessary spending.

Highlights from 2013 GAO report:

* 76 federal drug abuse prevention and treatment programs are spread across 15 agencies;

* 23 agencies implemented 679 renewable energy programs at a cost of $15 billion in Fiscal Year 2010;

* 159 contracting organizations in ten Pentagon offices provide foreign language support;

* Among 29 Department of Homeland Security contracts worth $66 billion, GAO found 35 instances where the contracts overlapped with existing DHS activities; and

* Three federal offices have oversight of catfish inspections.

Highlights from 2012 GAO report:

* 209 STEM education programs, administered by 13 different federal agencies at a cost of $3 billion in 2010,

* 53 separate programs run by 4 federal agencies to provide economic development assistance, at a cost of $2.6 billion in 2010,

* 15 financial literacy programs across 13 federal agencies at a cost of $30 million in 2010.

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