Fifth SOS Bill Tells Government: Stop Trying to be Google

Press Release

Today, Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05) announced the fifth bill in his 2016 Shrink our Spending Initiative to highlight and cut wasteful taxpayer-funded programs. Upon introduction of the latest bill, to eliminate grants for yoga classes for federal employees, Rep. Salmon released the following statement:

"This bill is about sending a simple message: The government isn't Google, so stop trying to be. Startups across our country are offering unique benefits to their employees in exchange for working in a developing business with a new culture. But bureaucrats in Washington are already being paid by the taxpayer's hard work and such "fringe benefits' are nothing more than a waste of dollars already taken away from American families."

Background: The Federal Government, in an effort to provide amenities for federal employees with taxpayer funds, provides free yoga classes to employees. Between just two federal agencies, the State Department and the Department of Energy, taxpayers will have spent more than $168,000 on yoga and Pilates in the last 5 years.

Background on Rep. Salmon's SOS Initiative:

In 2014, Rep. Salmon began a program to identify and cut wasteful spending government-wide, because he knew every federal department, office, and agency has wasteful spending within their budgets. The program was called the "Shrink Our Spending" Initiative and aimed at finding $ 1.5 billion in wasteful spending. In 2015, the initiative identified and cut over $3 billion in government waste

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