As the House considers H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Act for Fiscal Year 2019, NTU urges all Members to support initiatives that reduce expenditures, eliminate waste, increase efficiency, and uphold free market principles.
Thanks to the increased spending afforded under February’s budget-busting spending deal, lawmakers have less incentive to critically examine and prioritize spending. This is reflected in the billions of dollars in wasteful spending maintained in the bill, despite strong calls for reform or cuts to many unnecessary programs (often better left to the private sector) from the Administration, the Republican Study Committee (RSC), and outside organizations across the political spectrum.
Some examples include costly subsidies for renewable and fossil fuel energy research, risky loan programs, duplicative economic development Regional Commissions, the Open World Leadership Center, the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development, and the usual assortment of unauthorized appropriations.
The House Appropriations Committee does deserve credit for making a series of common-sense reforms to the Legislative Branch, such as repealing the allowances of former Speakers of the House, zero-based budgeting for legislative branch agencies, reducing printing costs, and a prohibition of bonus payments to contractors who are behind or over schedule. These types of smart changes should be extended to other agencies and branches of the federal government. Likewise, NTU supports the Division A repeal of the draconian “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) Rule as an unjustifiable application of the Clean Water Rule and massive expansion of federal authority.
Legislators should take every opportunity to improve the underlying bill. To that end, NTU urges all Representatives to vote “YES” on the following amendments:
Division A: Energy and Water
Amd. 8 (72) Mitchell (R-MI): This amendment would cut 10 percent from the administrative expense accounts at both the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Energy, saving taxpayers more than $34 million.
Amd. 24 (39) Gosar (R-AZ): This amendment would eliminate funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), saving taxpayers $325 million. The Administration and the RSC have both advocated eliminating this stimulus-era program.
Amd. 34 (79) Blackburn (R-TN): This amendment would cut discretionary spending levels in Division A by 1 percent. During a time of record debt and looming funding crises, it is important that legislators take every opportunity now to demonstrate both the willingness and ability to rein in spending, even to a modest degree.
Amd. 37 (71) Burgess (R-TX): This amendment would prevent the Department of Energy (DOE) from using funds to enforce unreasonable incandescent lamp regulations, preserving consumer choice.
Amd. 39 (11) Norman (R-SC): This amendment would bring DOE appropriations in line with the fiscal year 2018 enacted spending levels, saving taxpayers $1.5 billion.
Division B: Legislative Branch
Amd. 14 (16) Gosar (R-AZ): This amendment would eliminate funding for the Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund, saving taxpayers $5.6 million in wasteful spending. The center is an unnecessary cultural exchange program that duplicates similar programs in the State Department.
Amd. 18 (30) Blackburn (R-TN): This amendment would cut discretionary spending levels in Division B by 1 percent, exempting security-related accounts.
NTU urges all Representatives to vote “NO” on the following amendment to Division C: MilCon/VA:
Amd. 38 (1) Ratcliffe (R-TX): This amendment would prohibit any funds from being used to propose, plan, or execute a new round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). In past years, the Pentagon has repeatedly requested another round of BRAC in order to address their growing excess infrastructure problem and bring their facilities in line with our current security needs. Permitting the Pentagon to proceed with BRAC could save $2 billion a year in perpetuity.
Roll call votes on the above amendments to H.R. 5895 will be included in our annual Rating of Congress.