January 15, 2014

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.  20515

Dear Representative,

Later today, you will vote on H.R. 3547, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, also known as the omnibus appropriations bill, which would fund government agencies and programs through the end of the fiscal year (FY) 2014.  On behalf of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to oppose this legislation for the following reasons:

• H.R. 3547 breaks the sequester caps established in the 2011 Budget Control Act.  The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 set a spending cap of $1.012 trillion in FY 2014, which is not only $45 billion above the $967 sequester cap for FY 2014, but also $26 billion above the $986 billion level set in the continuing resolution that expires today.

• H.R. 3547 is overflowing with earmarks.  In our preliminary analysis, we have uncovered a proliferation of earmarks in the 1,582-page bill.  Even more disturbing is that certain lawmakers have issued press releases in the wake of the bill’s release, shamelessly bragging about “bringing home the bacon,” a practice that was prevalent during the golden age of earmarks.  Accordingly, taxpayers should be worried about this bill setting a precedent for a return to earmarking.

• H.R. 3547 fails to eliminate ineffective and wasteful programs.  The bill not only fails to eliminate or consolidate hundreds of duplicative and overlapping programs that have been identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the past three years and cost $295 billion annually according to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), it also increases spending on dozens of programs that have been cited as wasteful and ineffective by GAO, agency inspectors general, the Congressional Budget Office, and other budget analysts.

The following list of earmarks, while not complete, meet our long-standing, seven-point criteria for pork-barrel spending:

Agriculture

• $112,848,000 for the Rural Utilities Service, including $66,500,000 in grants for Alaska and Hawaii, $10,000,000 for high energy cost grants, $1 million for a water and waste revolving fund, $993,000 for water well system grants, and $355,000 for a guaranteed subsidy.

Defense

• $90,000,000 for continued upgrade of the M1 Abrams tank to the M1A2SEP variant.  The Army is on record saying it has more than enough tanks and wishes to delay the M1 upgrade program until 2017, saving taxpayers $3 billion.  Since FY 1994, there have been 31 earmarks for the M1 Abrams tank program costing taxpayers $519.2 million.

• $60,000,000 for alternative energy research, spread across three programs.

Energy and Water

• $341,000,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers, including $306,000,000 for construction and $35,000,000 for investigations.  Members of Congress have earmarked more than $2.5 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers over the years.

Financial Services

• $45,122,000 for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program.  Originally meant for border states, members of Congress have used earmarks to expand the program to non-border states.  Since FY 1997, 28 earmarks costing taxpayers $117.5 million have been directed to HIDTA programs in 10 states.

Interior

• $9,285,000 for Heritage Partnership Programs through the National Park Service.  Since 2001, the Heritage Partnership Programs have received 48 earmarks worth a total of $28.7 million.  President Obama’s FY 2012 Terminations, Reductions, and Savings recommended halving this program’s funding, citing a lack of criteria to evaluate potential sites.

State and Foreign Operations

• $5,900,000 for the East-West Center in Hawaii.  Meant to promote improved relations among Pacific nations, the East-West Center has received 10 earmarks worth a total of $103.8 million since FY 1997.

H.R. 3547 includes several provisions that would increase transparency and eliminate wasteful spending, including a reduction of $49 million for the biofuels program; denial of funds for high-speed rail; increased oversight of Veterans Affairs construction projects; and no funding for the renovation of UN Headquarters in New York.  The Department of Defense Appropriations Act does not include funding for the Medium Extended Air Defense System and cuts funding for the Army’s troubled Defense Common Ground System.  

However, the earmarks and other wasteful spending provisions in the bill, including language that prevents the U.S. Postal Service from closing unnecessary facilities and ending Saturday delivery, far outweigh the few positive aspects of H.R. 3547.

Now that spending levels have been established for both FY 2014 and 2015, Congress has ample time to end the mismanagement of the taxpayers’ money on thousands of wasteful programs.  The FY 2015 bills should also be completely earmark-free.  I urge you to oppose the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014.  All votes on H.R. 3547 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2014 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW