[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1265-H1266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   SPECIFIC SPENDING CUT SUGGESTIONS

  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, today I present my annual list of specific 
funding cut suggestions. These 75 discretionary, not entitlement, 
discretionary cuts, would save an estimated $275 billion over the next 
5 years, which is almost double the amount of spending cuts the 
President has presented in his budget.
  The vast majority of these suggestions were contained in my ``Spirit 
of 76'' package introduced in the last Congress. Unfortunately, since 
the programs named here escaped intact, as they often do, most are the 
same old suspects we have talked about eliminating for years. I urge 
colleagues to look at the list.
  These suggestions apply only to discretionary spending, because we 
must prove to the American people that we have truly cut all the waste 
out of the discretionary budget before we ask for changes in their 
quality of life programs.
  We have a balanced budget amendment. We are controlling unfunded 
mandates. We have a line item veto under discussion. We are talking 
about a supermajority to raise taxes. All great ideas, but we must cut 
wasteful spending first.
              Thrifty Fifty Plus: Seventy-Five Suggestions

                    (In millions of dollars/5 years)            Savings
Cancel the National Aerospace Plane (NASP)..........................300
Continue partial civilian hiring freeze at DOD....................8,850
Eliminate below-cost timber sales from National Forests.............235
Lower target prices for subsidized crops 3 percent annually......11,000
Eliminate the Market Promotion Program..............................500
End the Federal Crop Insurance Program and replace with standing 
  authority for disaster assistance...............................1,660
Limit Federal highway spending to the amount brought in by motor 
  vehicle fuel taxes..............................................8,850
Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act........................................3,080
Reduce Commodity Credit Corporation subsidies to those with off-farm 
  incomes over $100,000.............................................660
Reduce the Attending Physician Office by 33 percent.................2.5
Fully implement H.R. 2452 (102d) to provide additional energy 
  conservation measures for Federal agencies......................1,900
Enact H.R. 1620 (103d) to prohibit direct Federal benefits and 
  unemployment benefits to illegal aliens........................27,000
Eliminate the Tobacco Price-Support Program.........................100
Consolidate the Bureau of Indian Affairs.............................53
Close 20 under-utilized black lung offices..........................0.3
Allow private sector investment in the Space Shuttle..............1,522
Eliminate Rural Economic and Community-Development (RECD) duplication 
  with the Small Business Administration (SBA)......................913
Eliminate the Rural Electric Administration.......................3,000
Terminate all highway ``demonstration projects''..................2,590
Lower the travel budgets of all non-postal, civilian agencies by 15 
  percent...........................................................858
Lower by 10 percent per annum the projected growth rate of non-postal, 
  civilian agency's overhead (excluding travel)..................64,000
Abolish Cotton Price Support and Loan Programs...................12,700
Cut the Foreign Aid budget (150 Account) by 15 percent and make all 
  earmarks in that account subject to a two-thirds vote for passa13,125
Phase out the Foreign Agricultural Service Cooperation funding......150
Eliminate the Appalachian Regional Commission.......................690
Roll back Congressional pay raise to $89,500........................118
Sell the National Helium Reserves to a joint venture comprised of 
  current employees and other private investors.....................692
Reduce the ``Franking'' allocation to Members of Congress by 50 perc167
Cut National Endowment for the Arts by 50 percent.................2,600
Cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by 50 percen883
Phase out subsidies for AMTRAK....................................2,660
Phase out ACTION (umbrella organization for domestic volunteer 
  activities) as a tax-supported program............................660
Facilitate contracting out and privatization of military commissar4,170
Terminate the Interstate Commerce Commission........................188
Phase out U.S. Fire Administration...................................10
End funding for all non-energy Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 
  activities........................................................580
Eliminate Essential Air Services subsidies..........................195
Eliminate Consumer Homemaking grants................................140
Privatize the House and Senate Gymnasiums...........................1.1
Reduce the Legislative Branch Appropriations by 20 percent........2,844
Reduce the Executive Office of the President appropriation by 20 
  percent...........................................................284
Close the Bureau of Mines and merge its data gathering activities with 
  other Interior Department research agencies.......................140
Raise the level and schedule of the Power Marketing Administration's 
  debt repayment....................................................970
[[Page H1266]] Eliminate the Clean Coal Program.....................300
Reduce the fill rate for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve..........1,000
End all new Bureau of Water Reclamation water projects............7,400
Eliminate the Dairy Subsidy Program...............................5,000
Merge the Agricultural Research Service, the Cooperative State Research 
  Service, and the Agricultural Extension Service; cut funding by 50 
  percent.........................................................3,950
Privatize the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae2,000
Eliminate the Economic Development Administration.................1,140
Eliminate non-targeted vocational State funding...................3,400
Consolidate the administrative costs of the AFDC, Food Stamps, and 
  Medicaid programs...............................................6,300
Replace new public housing construction with vouchers...............610
Increase Medicare safeguard funding by $540 million over 5 years (net 
  savings)........................................................5,400
Eliminate the Legal Services Corporation..........................1,900
End postal subsidies to not-for-profit organizations (excluding blind 
  and handicapped individuals)....................................2,000
Eliminate HUD special-purpose grants................................990
Reform vacation and overtime for the Senior Executive Service.......540
Eliminate DOD payments for indirect research and development; 
  substitute direct R&D..........................................14,740
Reduce DOE energy technology spending.............................2,550
Scale back Rural Rental Housing Assistance Program................1,400
Reduce mass transit grants; eliminate operating subsidies.........6,250
Eliminate Rural Development Association loans and guarantees......1,380
Eliminate ``Impact Aid'' to school districts with military bases..3,850
Consolidate Social Services programs..............................1,000
Reduce NIH funding by 10 percent, concentrating on overhead.......4,900
Freeze the number of rental assistance commitments................5,700
Scale back Low Income Home Energy Assistance grants...............5,150
Service Contract Act reform.........................................900
Reduce overhead in federally-sponsored university research........1,000
Strengthen and restructure NASA (NPR proposal)....................1,500
Eliminate redundant polar satellite programs........................250
Streamline HUD......................................................144
Reform prison construction..........................................580
Eliminate Travel, Tourism and Export Promotion Administration.....1,002


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