Identifies $1.65 Trillion of Waste in Federal Budget

(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released Prime Cuts 2004, a comprehensive catalog of policies and programs in need of reform and elimination.  Prime Cuts 2004 scrutinizes every federal department and agency to identify waste, fraud, and abuse.  It lists 592 recommendations that, if enacted, could save taxpayers $217 billion in fiscal 2005 and $1.65 trillion over the next five years.   

“After a record $413 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year 2004, it seems almost no one in government is serious about cutting spending, and few candidates want to talk about the magnitude of waste in the federal budget,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “After the election, the President and Congress should embrace Prime Cuts as a blueprint for a smaller, more efficient government that can protect Americans’ wallets.”   

Prime Cuts features some long-standing proposals, such as terminating the international space station (saving $9.3 billion over five years) and eliminating the Advanced Technology Program (saving $873 million over five years).  New recommendations include eliminating the current contract for the Defense Travel System (DTS) and re-soliciting the contract to the private sector (saving taxpayers $245 million over five years).  During the 108^th Congress, 29 Prime Cuts recommendations were enacted which will collectively save taxpayers $8 billion the first year and $57 billion over five years. 

“Despite Prime Cuts successes in recent years, the overall fiscal record of the 108^th Congress remains abysmal, emphasizing the urgent need to further downsize government,” Schatz continued.  “As we approach election day, candidates promise to increase government spending in every imaginable area.  Each new proposal should be offset with a cost-saving recommendation from Prime Cuts, thus negating the impact on the deficit.”     

In Prime Cuts, federal agencies can find simple ways to reduce waste without limiting their ability to serve the public.  For example, the Department of Health and Human Services can save almost $15 billion by reducing spending for Medicare administration. 

“As the War on Terror drudges on and America braces for a crisis in entitlement spending, Prime Cuts is more important than ever,” Schatz concluded.  “Until these recommendations are enacted, and until all policymakers understand that tradeoffs are necessary to enhance defense, intelligence, and security, the nation will remain threatened by both terror and fiscal disaster.”    

Prime Cuts 2004 is available upon request or online at www.cagw.org.

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