Vote 'YES' on the RSC's Amendement to H.R. 2112 

June 14, 2011

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Representative,

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 the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) amendment to H.R. 2112, the fiscal year 2012 Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

The RSC’s amendment to H.R. 2112 would reduce spending in the bill by an additional 10.4 percent, generating another $1.8 billion in savings for taxpayers.  This amendment would harmonize discretionary spending in the bill with the RSC’s “Cut, Cap, and Balance” approach to raising the debt ceiling.  Many of the programs conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) perform overlapping functions, and could easily be consolidated.  This amendment would prioritize the use of taxpayer dollars and increase efficiency in government spending on agriculture by eliminating the Food for Peace program and decreasing funding by 50 percent to four duplicative research services at USDA: the Agricultural Research Service, the Economic Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.  The federal government, like all American families, must learn to do more with less.  The elimination of the Food for Peace program and reduction of funding to the Agricultural Research Service are among the 691 recommendations included in CAGW’s 2011 Prime Cuts, which would save taxpayers $391.9 billion in the first year and $1.8 trillion over five years.

At a time when the national debt has ballooned to more than $14.4 trillion, members of Congress should be looking for every viable way to slash wasteful programs and curtail superfluous spending.  It’s time to show taxpayers that lawmakers are serious about taking all necessary steps to reduce the ever-growing national debt.  All votes on the RSC’s amendment to H.R. 2112 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2011 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Thomas Schatz,
President