At a speech to the Union League in Philadelphia today, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump committed to several government-wide reforms that could save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars:

“I will ask that savings be accomplished through common sense reforms that eliminate government waste and budget gimmicks – and that protect hard-earned benefits for Americans.

Government-wide, improper government payments are estimated to exceed $135 billion per year, and the amount of unpaid taxes is estimated to be as high as $385 billion.

We can also reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy through responsible workforce attrition – that is, when employees retire, they can be replaced by a smaller number of new employees.

We can also stop funding programs that are not authorized in law. Congress spent $320 billion last year on 256 expired laws. Removing just 5 percent of that will reduce spending by almost $200 billion over 10 years.

The military will not be exempt either – the military bureaucracy will have to be trimmed as well.”

CAGW has consistently championed reforms to curb improper payments, shrink the federal bureaucracy, address the billions in unauthorized spending that occurs each year, and responsibly control costs at the Department of Defense.  CAGW’s annual Prime Cuts, details the many options Congress possesses to cut into the growing national debt.  The 2016 version contains 618 recommendations that would save taxpayers $644.1 billion in the first year and $2.6 trillion over five years.