Rep. Neugebauer's (Texas) newsletter

Dear Randy,
    I have read your newsletter entitled, "Summer Agenda in Congress".
    You cover several points, but I am particularly interested in the nine appropriations bills. We can cover that first and pick up the other items later on.
    First, I must congratulate you on your write-up of February 14, in which you discuss the budget, appropriations bills and continuing resolutions, sequestration, and the debt limit. I refer all readers to that posting at http://randy.house.gov/randys-roundup/translating-washington-speak.
    After much searching, I could not find a list of the 9 individual appropriations bills, but have decided to use the best alternate in: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1105enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1105enr.pdf
    I will now comment on how I believe each of these should be handled.

AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG 
ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
    Agricultural subsidies should be cut significantly. Rural development should be eliminated. The FDA should be maintained in its present form.

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
    Commerce should be reinterpreted to eliminate promotion, which will automatically reduce expenditure. Justice should be maintained. Anything related to science grants to universities should be eliminated.

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED 
AGENCIES 
    The Department of Energy should be eliminated. Granting of drilling permits
can be transferred to the Department of Interior. Water development should be substantially cut, since it can be handled by the states.

FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT
    The Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the IRS should be maintained, although employee cuts of approximately 10% appear justifiable. We don't need General Government.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND 
RELATED AGENCIES 
    We need the Department of Interior, but cut employees 10%. We similarly need the Environmental Protection Agency, but cut employees 50%. Eliminate Related Agencies unless they are specific enough to have significant titles.

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 
AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
    Cut employees in the labor, health and human services areas by 50%. Eliminate the Department of Education completely. Eliminate Related Agencies unless justified by need.    

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH 
    Cut employees 50%.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND 
RELATED PROGRAMS 
    Eliminate embassies and consulates around the world from countries where we are obviously not welcome, which automatically significantly reduces expenditures. Similarly, eliminate all expenditures for nation building.

TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, 
AND RELATED AGENCIES 
    Cut transportation employees by 10% and Housing and Urban Development employees by 50%. Eliminate Related Agencies unless proven necessary.

FURTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY AND OTHER MATTERS
    We need this, especially in connection with border control and protection from terrorists. Border control may actually require increased expenditures. Terrorist control by Homeland Security is not being handled efficiently. Maintain the expenditure but improve the efficiency.

MILITARY
    I saw nothing in the above list on Military, but it is obviously part of an expenditure program. It should be maintained, but reapportioned. We can reduce all standing military complement by 20 to 50%. We should increase our military effectiveness by improving our use of technology, particularly with drones, and other long-range techniques to effectively control foreign terrorists and rogue countries at their source. This would include small-size directionally controlled atomic weapons.
     The efficiency of the Veterans Administration in supplying veterans benefits should be significantly improved, even if that requires a small increase in expenditure.
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    I believe I had difficulty in finding a listing of the individual appropriations bills, because of the existence of the Continuing Resolution (CR) procedure, which Congress has used as a crutch when it doesn't wish to face the existing problems. As you so aptly describe, the appropriations bills that have not been completed in the regular process get packaged together into what is known as a “Continuing Resolution” or a “CR”.  Most of the time, when the government, or part of the government, is funded through a CR, we are taking the easy way out.  Generally, a CR funds the government programs included in it at exactly the same level as the year before.
This is obviously an obstacle to any reform government, which we need it the present time, we ought to get rid of it. This would then lead to the problem of lack of any funding appropriation for a particular agency or venture, whenever there is a strong disagreement within Congress. This would effectively work to the public advantage, which is to reduce the size of government and his power.
Let's stop the process of Continuing Resolution (CR).

Your newsletter also mentions several other items, which Congress must address. You say one of these is the National Defense Authorization Act (NADIA) to give our troops the tools they need to protect our freedom.  Additionally, we will reauthorize intelligence legislation to ensure American intelligence agencies have the resources they need to combat terrorism.
I'm not sure why we need new legislation. We already have a Military and a Central Intelligence Agency, as already covered in the section above, and which I have recommended positive in the funding thereof. Let's continue to remember that one of the major difficulties with our present government is the burden of too many regulations and associated paperwork in general. Let's get back to implementation of existing laws and allowances, without developing whole new sets.

You mentioned that with the impetus of the recent tornado damage in Oklahoma, you have introduced the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Reauthorization Act (NWIRP), which makes smart use of our taxpayer dollars and promotes research that helps save lives, reduce injuries and lessen damage from windstorms.
I don't see how the federal government can possibly lessen damage from windstorms any more than can the state or local municipalities. Affected states in the tornado corridor have more capability to conduct research on a subject than does the federal government. In fact, scientific research is almost always contracted out to universities through federal agency grants, which should be eliminated. Your only concern should be whether federal taxpayer dollars should be involved.
The recent Oklahoma experience shows that there is strong private local, state, and national support to rectify the damage and aid the victims in their privation. The federal government should not be involved either as FEMA or through any other grants. I'm sure the independent spirit of Oklahomans is that they can take care of their own business, including disasters, without government meddling. Let's remember that private organizations, such as the Red Cross have very strong capability as supported by private funding. The mere existence of federal taxpayer funds tends to reduce the private funding for those effective organizations, as possible contributing individuals take the attitude that they are already paying heavily into the federal coffers.

You also mention the obscene spendthrift practice of the IRS. You say this week, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on their wasteful spending.  The House of Representatives is also continuing to investigate the IRS’  unconstitutional targeting of conservative groups in the last election. 
Those investigations seem to be going along well and are a basic Congressional responsibility of oversight. I need make no further comment.