Feb. 11, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the upcoming House and Senate budget process:
“The Trump administration has been identifying wasteful and potentially fraudulent spending at an alarming pace via its efforts at U.S. Treasury and the White House’s U.S. DOGE Service. Simply by ending payouts to individuals who provide no identification, DOGE says it could save at least $50 billion a year. There is no reason that Congress should not assume significant savings for upcoming fiscal year 2026 including for example a complete restructuring of USAID that the Trump administration is already implementing. The U.S. Treasury payment systems analysis by the White House has revealed $50 billion to $100 billion going to recipients who might be ineligible — something Congress was apparently unaware of — and this barely scratches the surface. It is clear that Congress was unaware of it. It does not include people who are filing illegitimate claims from fake Social Security Numbers for example, fraudulent services reimbursements and so forth.
“In this budget process, Americans for Limited Government strongly urges that the House and Senate Budget Committees to mandate transparency and to anticipate a minimum of 40 percent of the $1 trillion of savings claims made by the White House in the upcoming fiscal year budget, netting $400 billion by encapsulating those savings into law. It is obvious that throughout this year details of waste, fraud and abuse will be revealed on a daily basis and by failing to recognize the spending cuts that should naturally follow would demonstrate a blindness to the reality of the President’s upcoming budget request, which will be substantially lower than the current baseline.
“The waste, fraud and abuse savings now being revealed are barely the tip of the iceberg, and House Republican policy should naturally create pressure for hundreds of billions of savings as Biden administration policies related to the Green New Deal and other subsidies are rightfully ended. Americans for Limited Government urges the budget committees of both chambers to be aggressive in their assumptions and proposals regarding spending cuts that Congress needs to enact in order to get America’s fiscal house in order.
“Our nation faces unprecedented fiscal challenges including the spiraling $37 trillion national debt paired with a need to increase real income for Americans across the board while keep prices down. Government debt net interest payments have risen to $890 billion, the second largest item on the budget after Social Security. If aggressive steps are not taken to limit deficit spending through economic growth policies as well as real, substantial budgets cuts — and support for President Trump’s own efforts — our nation’s economy is threatened by the weight of the debt crushing our ability to be the world’s number one superpower.”
Attachments:
“DOGE Uncovers $50B Annually Sent to People Without SSNs—Why Didn’t Congress Reveal This?” By Rick Manning, Feb. 11, 2025 at https://townhall.com/columnists/rickmanning/2025/02/11/doge-uncovers-50b-annually-sent-to-people-without-ssnswhy-didnt-congress-reveal-this-n2652010
“Treasury Secretary Blocked From Treasury Payment Systems. What’s Next? The Commander-In-Chief Can’t Direct The Military?” By Robert Romano, Feb. 10, 2025 at https://dailytorch.com/2025/02/treasury-secretary-blocked-from-treasury-payment-systems-whats-next-the-commander-in-chief-cant-direct-the-military/
For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.
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