April 2, 2012

U.S. Representative
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative,

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) recently introduced H.R. 4295, the Consolidate Heavy-handed and Outdated Programs (CHOP) Act. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support this legislation.

On February 28, 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report highlighting significant cases of duplication, overlap and lack of coordination between agencies and programs. This 426-page study highlighted 51 areas where programs may be able to achieve greater efficiencies or become more effective in providing government services. Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) released an analysis of the GAO reports, showing that $400 billion is spent each year on 1,500 duplicative, fragmented, and inefficient programs. In particular, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) perform many duplicative functions.

H.R. 4295 would address this repetition by merging the DOE and the EPA into a single agency called the Department of Energy and the Environment. In combining the two agencies, the bill would consolidate 20 offices into 8 offices, eliminate 4 offices, and eliminate or reduce 24 programs and initiatives.

Many of the cost-savings initiatives in H.R. 4295 are derived from recommendations produced by the Congressional Budget Office, the GAO, the Office of Management and Budget, and the President’s fiscal year 2011 and 2012 budget requests. Among its largest cost-savings initiatives, the bill would save $1.8 billion by reducing DOE’s Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility and another $1.49 billion by eliminating federal grants for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure. In total, the enactment of this bill could produce upwards of $5.3 billion in savings.

The CHOP Act would also eliminate the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, Local Government Climate Change Grants, and Targeted Airshed Grants, all of which are recommendations that are included in CAGW’s 2011 Prime Cuts, a compendium of 691 recommendations that would save taxpayers $391.9 billion in the first year and $1.8 trillion over five years.

I strongly urge you to support Rep. Blackburn’s legislation to help reduce the size of the bloated federal government. All votes on H.R. 4295 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2012 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW