As the tea party movement demanding a smaller government and lowered taxes continues to shape the political landscape, Republican members of Floridas congressional delegation offered plans this week to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.
On Thursday, Florida TaxWatch released an essay by Republican U.S. Sen. George LeMieux in which he argued that the federal government needs to return to 2007 levels of spending and must be run more like a business.
To prevent the nation and the state of Florida from sliding further into a fiscal crisis and economic stagnation, Washington needs to embrace practical policy and financially sound initiatives that will rein in spending while promoting economic growth and incentivizing job creation in the private sector, wrote LeMieux. The implementation of the 2007 Solution would not only bring about a balanced, sound budget, but incentivize a new culture and way of thinking in Washington that would save taxpayers trillions. Floridas businesses and children are on the front line of turning our economy around and we can no longer afford to place the burden and uncertainty of our national debt on their backs. The option of continuing to do nothing is simply much too high.
LeMieux argued that his 2007 solution, which he has been pushing all year in Washington and at appearances in Florida, would limit federal spending to an annual amount of $2.7 trillion. He maintained that, if his plans were enacted, the budget would be balanced by 2013.
While LeMieux, who was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2009, is not seeking another term in 2010, there is speculation that he will run in 2012 against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
LeMieux was not the only Florida Republican on Capitol Hill weighing in on how to reduce the federal government. On Wednesday, Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee--including Floridians U.S. Rep. John Mica and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart--released a report entitled Sitting on Our Assets: The Federal Governments Misuse of Taxpayer-Owned Assets that maintained more than $250 billion could be saved through cutting waste and better management.
This comprehensive review identifies up to a quarter of a trillion dollars in potential savings that could be achieved by eliminating waste, better managing critical federally-owned assets, and operating government programs with more efficiency, said Mica, the ranking Republican on the committee. The report examines opportunities for saving taxpayer dollars in major areas under the jurisdiction of the Committee, including the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the General Services Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In a television appearance on Fox News on Wednesday morning, Mica insisted that the federal government was wasting money on courthouse renovations and stalled projects. He said that other committees in Congress should follow his lead and look for ways to save money--something he repeated when the report was released.
Using this report as a blueprint, the federal government could save the taxpayers billions, and if every committee in the House prepared a similar report, we could target trillions in potential savings, said Mica.
Americans have tightened their belts during these difficult economic times, but the federal government has not, added Mica. Congress must become a better steward of the peoples money and resources. Its time we stop sitting on our assets, stop wasting taxpayers money, and start getting the best return on the hard-earned funds Americans send to Washington.
Mica, Diaz-Balart and four other Republicans who sit on the committee insisted the federal government-specifically the General Services Administration and the Department of Transportation--could save money through better management of facilities run by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration and expanding opportunities for private companies as well as making the approval and review process easier.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859
