- The federal
government cannot account for $24.5 billion spent in
2003.
- A White House
review of just a sample of the federal budget identified $90
billion spent on programs deemed that were either ineffective,
marginally adequate, or operating under a flawed purpose or
design.
- The Congressional
Budget Office published a "Budget Options" book identifying $140
billion in potential spending cuts.
- The federal
government spends $23 billion annually on special interest
pork projects such as grants to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or
funds to combat teenage "goth" culture in Blue Springs,
Missouri.
- Washington spends tens of billions of dollars on failed and outdated programs such as the Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Geological Survey and Economic Development Association.
- The federal
government made $20 billion in overpayments in 2001.
- The Department of
Housing and Urban Development's $3.3 billion in overpayments
in 2001 accounted for over 10 percent of the department's total
budget.
- Over one recent
18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used
government-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400
for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling,
$69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance
clubs and prostitutes.
- Examples of
wasteful duplication include: 342 economic development
programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130
programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood
development programs; 75 programs funding international
education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and
72 federal programs dedicated to assuring safe water.
- The Advanced
Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing
private businesses, and 40% of this goes to Fortune 500
companies.
- The Defense
Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets, and
never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were
reimbursable.
- The Conservation
Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually to not farm
their land.
- Washington spends
$60 billion annually on corporate welfare, versus $43
billion on homeland security.
- The Department of
Agriculture spends $12 billion to $30 billion annually on
farm subsidies, the vast majority of which go to agribusinesses and
farmers averaging $135,000 in annual income.
- Massive farm
subsidies also go to several members of Congress, and celebrity
"hobby farmers" such as David Rockefeller, Ted Turner, Scottie
Pippen, and former Enron CEO Ken Lay.
- The Medicare
program pays as much as eight times the cost that other
federal agencies pay for the same drugs and medical supplies.
- Congressional
investigators were able to receive $55,000 in federal
student loan funding for a fictional college they created to test
the Department of Education.
- The Army Corps of
Engineers has been accused of illegally manipulating data to
justify expensive but unnecessary public works projects.
- Food stamp
overpayments cost $600 million annually.
- School lunch
program abuse costs $120 million annually.
- Veterans' program
overpayments cost $800 million annually.
- Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) overpayments cost $9 billion annually.
- Better tracking
of student loan recipients would save $1 billion
annually.
- Preventing states
from using accounting tricks to secure additional Medicaid funds
would save several billion dollars annually.
- Medicare contractors owe the federal government $7 billion.
Sources: see Brian M. Riedl, "How to Get Federal Spending Under Control," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1733, March 10, 2004, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/bg1733.cfm.
Brian Riedl is Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.