Sen. Ernst offer cost cutting ideas

 Newsmax:

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The topics included:

1. Vacant Buildings: The government paying for unused buildings, costing around $8 billion a year.
2. Audit the IRS: Roughly 5,800 IRS employers or contractors owe almost $50 million.
3. Biden's Billion Dollar Boondoggles: $7.5 billion was allocated in Biden's infrastructure program to build EV charging stations. So far, 17 have been built in the last three years. Meanwhile, hundreds of billions of COVID-relief funds have been sent to fraudsters.
4. Golden State Gravy Trains Taking Taxpayers for a Ride: "The California High-Speed Train is costing about $1.8 million a day to build and won't be completed for another decade."
5. Christmas in September: Calls out Congress' spending in September left over from the fiscal year. Of the $53 billion spent in a single week, purchases included "$4.6 million of lobster tail and crab, and $2.1 million for games and toys, including nearly $12,000 for a Foosball table."
6. Welfare for Politicians: A program called the Presidential Election Campaign Fund gives money anywhere from hundreds of thousands of dollars to a million to failed candidates who ran for president.
7. Bad Pennies: Though not mentioned by Ernst explicitly, this appears to be a hard money issue. The Treasury Department spends more money making coins than they're worth.
8. Trillion Dollar Secret Slush Funds: Washington has "trillions of dollars stashed away in secret slush funds" yet couldn't pay to help out veterans in need.
9. Bogus Bonuses: Government employees or contractors get paid bonuses for poor performance.
10. Silly Science: The government funds studies such as: How fast can a shrimp run on a treadmill? And does a potato chip look like Elvis?
11. Unemployment for Millionaires: Unemployment payments are being paid out to millionaires.
12. Government Swag: Government agencies spend tax dollars on "koozies, key chains, coloring books," and "snuggies" for public relations and lobbying.
13. Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: Consolidating cloud computing to a single software designate could save the government $750 million a year.
14. China's Mad Scientists: Dr. Anthony Fauci sent taxpayer dollars to fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Millions of dollars were also sent to other Chinese institutions.
15. United Nations Overpayments: The U.N. charges the United States higher membership dues than any other country.
16. Defenseless Spending: The Pentagon has never passed an audit. Meanwhile, a soap dispenser got an 8,000% markup, and a coffee cup cost $1,220.
17. Remove Ineligible Recipients of Federal Employees Health Benefits: "The Federal Employees Health Benefits program is spending almost $1 billion a year paying the bills of individuals who aren't even eligible for the coverage."
18. Paid to Do Nothing: Dozens of Department of Energy employees get paid while they take naps and play dominoes and chess.
19. Stop Giving Away the Farm: The U.S. Department of Agriculture pays for studies on pigeons playing video games and "cricket farms."
20. Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments: "Nearly $1 billion of ineligible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are being paid every month."
21. Reducing Duplication and Improving Performance: The Government Accountability Office has already earmarked $200 billion worth of programs to be cut.
22. Require Common Sense Project Management Principles: "For every $1 billion Washington spends, $102 million is wasted as projects go over budget, are delayed, or fail to meet projected goals."