Unlikely Allies Uncover Billions in Federal Government Savings

Media Contacts
Jeff Bernstein

Former Director of Programming, Explore Booksellers

Georgia PIRG Education Fund

WASHINGTON – As a federal commission continues to debate recommendations for addressing future federal deficits,  a new study (link) released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) provides the panel with a great place to start: more than $600 billion of spending cuts with appeal across the political spectrum. 

While the two groups have widely divergent views on many tax and fiscal issues, they have joined forces to identify federal programs that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers should recognize as wasteful and inefficient uses of taxpayer dollars. 

The U.S. PIRG and NTU study identifies 30 cuts in federal spending, including:    

  •  $62 billion in savings by eliminating wasteful subsidies to farmers and large corporations. 
  •  $354 billion in savings from reforming inefficient contract and acquisition procedures. 
  •  $77 billion in savings by improving execution of existing government programs as well as eliminating unneeded programs.
  •  $108 billion in savings from ending low-priority or unnecessary weapons systems, along with rightsizing other programs.

“This election season has been dominated by talk about the deficit, but we haven’t heard enough about specific solutions,” said Stephanie Ali, Georgia PIRG program associate.  “While these measures won’t fix the problem on their own, they are a solid first step for any legislator who is serious about a more responsible and efficient government.”

Andrew Moylan of the National Taxpayers Union added, “Taxpayers are incensed by wasteful spending in Washington, and it is clear that we can no longer afford as a nation to put off difficult decisions about getting back to balance. We hope this report will bridge the ideological divide and serve as a basis for that debate.”

The organizations plan to send their findings to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which is currently in the process of drawing up its final recommendations to Congress for balancing the budget and strengthening the government’s long-term financial health.