For Immediate Release June 20, 2011

Contact:  Leslie K. Paige 202-467-5334 Luke Gelber 202-467-5318

CAGW Issues Spending Cut Alert: Department of Defense Appropriations

Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste today released its preliminary analysis of the House version of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. The bill includes $530 billion for non-emergency spending – an increase of $17 billion over FY 2011 and $9 billion below the President’s request – as well as $119 billion in emergency spending for the Global War on Terror, an increase of $841.5 million above the President’s request.

On June 14, 2011, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers stated, “Although we are engaged in wars on several fronts, there is also a battle being waged at home – against skyrocketing, dangerous deficits. No bill or department should be immune from scrutiny during these difficult financial times.” Accordingly, CAGW has combed through the bill in search of opportunities to cut wasteful spending and save taxpayers money. In this Spending Cut Alert, CAGW compared the FY 2012 Defense Appropriations bill to the 691 recommendations contained in its 2011 Prime Cuts database and found three significant spending cuts that, if enacted, would save taxpayers $860 million in FY 2012 and $5.26 billion over five years.

“The Prime Cuts database gives the public, the President, and Congress a very straightforward list of wasteful, duplicative, and outdated programs drawn from more than two dozen credible sources,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “All that is missing is the political leadership to eliminate these boondoggles using the budget process and the veto pen.”

Spending Cut	1-Year Savings (millions of dollars)	5-Year Savings (millions of dollars)
Cancel the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future) Ships	540	2,700
Reduce Procurement of Virginia Class Attack Submarines	80	1,360
Eliminate the Department of Defense's Elementary and Secondary Schools	240	1,200

CAGW’s Prime Cuts database is a compendium of 691 waste-cutting recommendations that would save taxpayers $391.9 billion in the first year and $1.8 trillion over five years.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.