President Donald Trump is right: There’s a lot of ridiculous gimmicks and wasteful projects in the new massive spending bill.
And the good news is there’s something that Trump can do about it, even though he recently signed the huge COVID-19 stimulus and omnibus spending bill into law.
While signing the bill, the president released a statement announcing that he would use his authority to request that Congress rescind wasteful spending from the bill.
Under the Impoundment Control Act, the president can propose that Congress rescind, or cancel, specific unspent budget authority from programs he has determined are unneeded.
The rescission package would be considered by the House and Senate under expedited procedures, without being subject to a filibuster in the Senate, and with protections for a minority of members to prevent the bill from getting bottled up in committee proceedings.
This makes sense. The 5,593-page behemoth spending package was loaded with overspending, gimmicks, and dozens of unrelated other legislative provisions. It was written behind closed doors and voted on within hours of it being made public, preventing any member of Congress or the American people from understanding what was actually in it.
Here are nine wasteful programs funded by the omnibus, which has $1.4 trillion in spending, that should be rescinded:
1. Washington Metro: $150 Million
The omnibus provides $150 million for grants to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the D.C. Metro.
This is yet another example of the capital city getting special benefits at the expense of the taxpayers from around the country. No other local transit system gets its own line-item appropriation. The Heritage Foundation has previously recommended this funding be eliminated.
2. DC Tuition Assistance Grants: $40 Million
The omnibus provides $40 million for federal payment for resident tuition support, which funds the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant program to subsidize the out-of-state tuition for D.C. residents attending college in other states.
Simply put, it is wrong for taxpayers across the county to provide a special subsidy for residents of Washington, D.C., who are also eligible for all the other federal college benefit programs. This program has not even been authorized by Congress since 2012. The president’s budget recommended the program be eliminated.
3. Kennedy Center: $40.4 Million
The omnibus provides a total of $40.4 million for operations and maintenance and capital repair and restoration for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Using taxpayer funds to subsidize D.C.’s swanky opera house is one of the least defensible items in the entire federal budget. The Kennedy Center already received an additional $25 million as a part of the CARES Act. The Heritage Foundation has previously recommended eliminating this funding.
4. National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities: $335 Million
The omnibus provides $167.5 million each to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
These two programs use federal tax dollars to make grants supporting arts and humanities projects, something that is much better done by private contributions. The two programs also received an additional $75 million from the CARES Act. Both the president’s budget and The Heritage Foundation have recommended these programs be eliminated.
5. Wilson Center: $14 Million
The omnibus provides $14 million for the Wilson Center, a federally subsidized think tank. Federal subsidies make up about half of the center’s budget, and the dedicated appropriation is not needed nor is it appropriate. The president’s budget and The Heritage Foundation have recommended federal funding for this center be ended.
6. Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Training: $93.9 Million
The omnibus provides $93.9 million for the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Training program, a $2 million increase from the fiscal year 2020 level.
This program is supposed to provide job training for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Even if this was appropriate for American taxpayers to subsidize, it is duplicative of other job training programs. The president’s budget and The Heritage Foundation have recommended this program be eliminated.
7. Senior Community Service Employment Program: $405 Million
The omnibus provides $405 million for Community Service Employment for Older Americans, which funds the Senior Community Service Employment Program.
This program provides grants meant to subsidize part-time community service activities by the elderly. The program is duplicative of other existing programs, is not cost effective, and nearly half of participants do not complete the program. The president’s budget and The Heritage Foundation have recommended eliminating the program.
8. McGovern-Dole Food for Education: $230 Million
The omnibus provides $230 million for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which uses taxpayer dollars to send American food to schools in foreign countries. The president’s budget has recommended this program be ended.
9. Corporation for Public Broadcasting: $495 Million
The omnibus provides $495 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, most of which is an advance appropriation for fiscal year 2023.
Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has already been provided for the upcoming fiscal year in prior appropriations bills. The organization also received an additional $75 million as a part of the CARES Act.
The federal government should not use taxpayer funds to subsidize television and radio service, a task which is not needed nor appropriate. The president’s budget and The Heritage Foundation have recommended eliminating this funding.
These are just a small handful of examples of wasteful spending in the $1.4 trillion spending package. Even if all of the wasteful or unnecessary spending from the omnibus is rescinded, much more needs to be done in order to have a responsible budget.
Trump proposing a robust rescission package and Congress passing it would be an important first step toward making controlling spending a priority.
See CAGW.org can fill pages of waste alone since 80s to date.,
Enough waste & pork to provide SS checks for 3K for life
Fund 80M new businesses small
Build a National EV Charging system, & Virgin Hyperloop
We need to start putting politicians in jail
This article is well written and right on point!
Look at the waste, typical Washington establishment BS.
WAKE UP AMERICA.
We the People need to take back our government and Country.
If we dont stand for something NOW , these socialists will not leave anything worth standing for!
We need a law/amendment, (whatever is necessary) to require that any bill can contain only one subject.
You did not mention anything about all the Dollars going to Different Counties that MUST be eliminated. Why are You not talking about those items. America First!!!
It’s way past a discussion. We need to march on Washington and do this ourselves.
Such a huge waste of money when do many workers have been shut out of jobs! Disgusting!!!
This is exactly the kind of spending expected from the democrats. Fluff, fluff and more fluff!
Special interest greed, at it’s absolutely finest. Most of these, such as the Kennedy Center, DC Metro, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, (PBS), receive corporate sponsorships and donations, so why should the taxpayers be “on the hook” for something that they either a) don’t patronize, or b) are just wasteful, like the aid to foreign countries, under the guise of “goodwill” programs.
Why don’t the village idiots in DC fund their OWN programs, and let the taxpayers decide where our money goes? Oh that’s right, the idiots FORGET, they work for the PEOPLE.
This is a disgusting waste of our taxpayer dollars! These ancient, paid for by lobbyists Congressmen and women need to use the money they had taken from the taxpayer to make themselves filthy rich to fund these ridiculous programs.
I do not want my tax dollars to go out of this country nor to the many special interest items in this bill!
You have not seen the real wasteful spending once Joe and Kamala hold the purse strings. The Georgia Senate runoff is very critical.
Cancel them all!
We need to refer to the DemoNRat fiscal recklessness as “Omni-BUST” spending!
A few thoughts. 1. if you eliminate all of these expenses you save $1 billion in a bill that spends a trillion. 2. Yes, they, for the most part should be eliminated – especially CPB which was established by Lindon Johnson. 3. The Kennedy Center must be one of the worst buildings ever built since they have to continually spend millions to keep in up – this has been going on almost from the day after it opened. 4, this just shows that lobbyists are alive and well.
Why the feds don’t have line-item veto on appropriations, as Texas does, is way beyond my feeble intellect. (Oh, I forgot about the pork amendment to the Constitution, I guess.)
I know this is a long process but one thing that can stop Congress in their tracks is a Convention of States. There are already 15 states signed on and a lot more to come especially when Biden is in office!!!
I was not going to respond — but. HA!HA!HA! NOT! THIS IS A SICK JOKE! WE ARE THE PUNCH LINE! PLEASE I AM AN “OLDER AMERICAN.”SUBSIDIZE MY EMPLOYMENT? PUT MORE INTO MY SS CHECK! HOW MUCH $$$ GOES TO DUPLICATE PROGRAMS??? PAYING MILLIONS FORWARD TO 2023? WTF? THAT NOW CAN TRANSLATE TO “WHY THAT’S WONDERFUL.”
WHY DO WE SEND BILLIONS OVER SEAS WHEN IT COULD BE ALLOCATED HERE IN A NONPOLITICAL MANNER?
WHAT A WASTE AND REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH! STOP THIS CRAP!!! WE CAN DO BETTER. OUR POLITICIANS NEED TO BE PROPERLY RECYCLED.
These aren’t the only problems with that bill. All that money going to foreign countries needs to be taken off also. Who knows what else was overlooked in that sneaky bill. I would like to think that our so called employees in Washington would do something about it but from past history they won’t because it benefits them someway and they really don’t care about those of us who pay their wages and they are supposed to represent. It is disheartening. We do need to march on Washington but there are too many of us who like those handouts so they don’t need to work. An I am not condemning those who genuinely need the help I don’t have a problem there but I have met too many that get handouts but are still working and getting good wages. We are a country divided and it is painful!
HOW ABOUT ALL THE MONEY BEING SENT OUT OF OUR COUNTRY AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE ALREADY 26 TRILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT!!!
Any time it takes 5900 pages to write a bill, you know its full of pork. I could write a covid relief bill in two paragraphs or less. This is the sort of thing that has been going on for years and all it does is line the pockets of politicians who get kickbacks from the recipients of the pork. When is this gonna stop? It takes more than just the president to get involved, we all need to put pressure on our elected officials. They work for us and we need to make them aware of that!
Let Americans go back to work and quit sending our money to our enemies and bailing out big businesses! Let’s work on paying down our debt and beefing up our military. NO MORE BAIL OUTS…
Nothing angers me most than aid to illegals! … If these people were really looking to assimilate and become Americans, they would ONLY speak Spanish inside their homes. But no, here in California, I hear more Spanish being spoken than English and maybe it’s because we have 10 million Hispanics living in our state. We have MORE Hispanic restaurants than American restaurants. We’re being Colonized and the stupid Progressively Communist Democrats are ALLOWING it!
The ones that sit back and tell us to quit wasting money and conserve are the very ones that is doing it.They all need to be thrown out and made to work like the rest of us.Then not have enough to make ends meet.To not being able to look to the end with hope.They take the money and use their time to seek their prositutes ,drugs, parties,vacations, and fancy dinners while the rest of us,never have the means to have a stacation much less a vacation. I applaud Pesident Trump and the rest that is trying to clean the SWAMP!
We could cut at least 350 million of this pile of stupid and send a check of One million to every legal American family and still have money left over to cut the debt! Just think what million dollars to every family would do for the economy! After all it OUR money not the Da** politicians.
This pisses me off. I dont give a crap about any of these things. The democrats are useless.
Nothing the article says is untrue or unfair but it is and has been poorly characterized from the outset. Trump should have gotten up in front of his microphone and told the American people, “The left is STEALING your HANDOUTS to fund this nonsense. They are taking money that should be given to you, and throwing it away. If that money had not been diverted by the PROGRESSIVES in the democrat party, your check would have been $xxx.xx.” Would this have stopped the steal? No idea. But it would have driven home the point to the intellectually challenged masses that these things have consequences, and those consequences hit them in their pocketbook. One more point, any Republican congressman or senator could have raised this very same point. How many did? How many voted NO for this ridiculous waste of money? That’s gotta tell you something.
How about putting AMERICANS first in everything they do? Who do these politicians think they are, spending OUR money on b.s. stuff when people are starving, burdened wth loads of medical debt that can cause us to lose homes, trying to scrape by for all of us hard working citizens? We get zero say in these bills, even our WY governor sold out. These bills and the politicians behind them care NOTHING for the people who they conveniently were elected by, and forget every single thing they promised the AMERICAN PEOPLE who voted for them the minute they take office. It’s disgusting and NOT what our founders, veterens, and sericemen and women risk their lives for. It’s a slap in the face to every one of us. We need to rise up as a nation and say, NO MORE!!!
This is just another form of money laundering. A percentage always finds it way back to Washington D.C. Politicians pockets!
1. Every President should be granted line-item veto authority.
2. Grant money should be reserved only for USA based entities. Under no circumstances should we be funding grants to foreign based organizations regardless of their righteousness.
I am 72, and I am so sad. When I see the ‘upper level’ get away with serious injustice and NOBODY is in jail. Why would anyone be above the law?
At some point the American people have to start using their votes to eliminate the members that keep being re-elected and doing nothing. It is going to have to be a coalition at the grass roots level that can overcome the will of the special interests that keep them and power and pick the wrong people to replace those that are leaving.
It should be illegal for the government to add all the wasted money they add to these bills. There are at least half of them that should 3 in jail.
They forgot the money it’s costing to brief Biden who hopefully will never be president.
Nothing will work short of a true revolution. The communists in congress, and YOU STUPID voters put those clowns in there, are going to crash the economy in full. Better have firearms to protect what you have. You stupid idiots who voted for the ( D ) communists are the problem. Adios Amerigo !
We all keep talking about all these things that are wrong and ANTI-AMERICA but what can be done about it. As we have just witnessed by the recent election voting is not realy an option since our votes are just canceled out by elegal and elegitimate votes and that is ok apparantly. We also can’t count on the courts to do anything since they simply refuse to get involved. What are our options as law abiding citizens? Americas true leaders need to circle the wagons and come with a plan that we the citizens can help them get the job done to stop the distruction of AMERICA. I think most of us are ready to jump in and due whatever their plan asks to stop this runnaway freight train. Once AMERICA is gone it will never come back.
Absolutely! One bill at a time!
Conservatives have serious cause to doubt that the Republican Party is their HOME! The Republican Study Committee is 150 out of 199 Republican Members of the House. Where are the other 49?!! From the traitors Paul Ryan and Romney, etc., many Republicans are Conservatives “IN NAME ONLY” (CINO’s)!!! We will NEVER succeed against the DemocRat/Communists tied down with the Establishment “Republicans”!!! The 2020 Election PROVED some 65 to 80% of Americans are READY!!! Minorities are READY but CANNOT accept being Republicans!!! Merge the Trump Movement & FreedomWorks.org – The American Revolution 2.0!!! Become Counter-Revolutionaries!!! Stand-up for Our Republic!!!! President Trump’s Movement and FreedomWorks.org have consolidated the base!!!! Form a new Political Party – The Freedom Party!!!!! Soar under OUR Banner – The American Eagle!!!!!
Wake-Up!! There are no Republican and DemocRat Parties! There is only the “Unity Party” “RINO’s & Socialists”!! They run a giant SCAM with the Media to keep us “sheep” entertained and in line!! The FreedomWorks.org group and the Trump Group thought they were changing the Republican Party!!! FORGET IT!!! Ryan, McConnell, Romney, etc. are the tip of the “fake loyal opposition iceberg” helping the DemocRats lead all Americans into a SOCIALIST HELL-HOLE!!!! Form a new Political Party – The Freedom Party!!! President Trump’s Movement combined with FreedomWorks.org plus Minorities who refuse to be Republicans have consolidated the base!!!! The American Revolution 2.0!!!!!
The Line Item veto should be adopted and applied.
This pork belly bs (stealing from American tax payers) needs to be just plain illegal. It’s infuriating!
This is all being paid with China money which we are left holding the bag for. This insanity needs to stop. We are beyond broke but Congress ignores this. This article didn’t mention the monies being sent to Pakistan to help women become independent. That is a dream that won’t happen until the Islam religion changes their views of women having independence and no amount of money will change that as it just goes into some bank account for payoffs etc.
How can this ever be reigned in as I know it won’t stop completely.
Get used to it folks because this will be standard spendng over the next four years with Sleppy Joe in the White House. Congress has never cut the budget, they only decrease the amount of the increased spending proposed for the next year.
How much money for Pakistan diversity nonsense?
Ted Cruz had a top ten list of Billions of wasted dollars.
Rand Paul has a separate list of similar stupidity.
Hey, this is almost a tipping point of insane debt. We may not survive this.
Perhaps that’s why Joe was talking about the big reset.
I’m a pro Trump veteran and this signifies end days for U.S.A.
Our elected representatives are a disgrace, but the “people” keep re-electing them.
Happy New Year?
All the pork is disgusting!!!
What a colossal waste of taxpayer money. Thank You for exposing this waste, National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities: $335 Million,Again?Expose the names behind this waste
I don’t know about all you out there, but I, for one, am sick and tired about the way our House and Senate do business. I know they keep adding items to bills to save time and/or hide the change/addition because it wouldn’t pass on its own. If a law or change is not transparent, it shouldn’t be considered at all. Gee think about how much money would be saved by vetoing funds to special interest groups.
One of the excuses politicians use is that it would take too much time to do separate bills; well, isn’t that too bad. Maybe they should work like the rest of us. No Spring, summer, or fall breaks, only two weeks vacation per year and no time for junkets to foreign countries (that’s why we have diplomats). A wise man once told me, “The first day a politician is sworn in is the first day of his re-election campaign.” After voting and watching politicians even before I was old enough to vote, I absolutely agree with that statement. Once in office, politicians know what a gravy train they are on and never want to get off that train.
Now, once in a while you do get someone into a high office that is not a politician. Right now tat person is Donald Trump; he has done nothing to enhance him or his family, everything he has done while the President of our country has been for the country and its people, not for Donald, his wife, or his children. Now, do I like Trump? Oh, hell no! Do I like him as president? Oh, hell yes! Just think of what more he could have accomplished in the last four years if he hadn’t had to waste time and energy defending himself against scurrilous charges that his enemies knew were not warranted.
What was his crime(s) that gained him enemies, even in his own party? #1-he came into the political game aiming for top spot with no political experience and won. #2 – He didn’t need money and couldn’t be bought.
How many even know that Trump lowered the national debt left by Obama from roughly $23+ Billion to $17 Billion and change by last March? Think how much more he would have lowered if it hadn’t been for “COVID 19” and the massive amounts of money needed to fight that and the stimulus money. I am sure Trump’s enemies will say ’til their dying day that Trump is the reason the Debt is now more than what Obama left us. Time to wake up America, the “LEFT” is killing our country with their agenda.
Congress needs to pass a line item veto for the president; lobbying needs to be stopped this is where the congressmen get rich and start pushing lobbyists agendas rather than there own and get paid to do it, lobbying must be stopped; voter ID must become law, the 2020 election has proven that, no more cheating; a 5,000-page bill is ridiculous, rushing big bills thru without congressmen having time to read and analyze must be stopped; no more pork. Just a few suggestions.
Like these aholes are going to stop spending….this is the prize of the lobbyists…that should be stopped….no lobbying and no jobs as lobbyists or their companies for retiring congress people.