WASHINGTON — Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst began suggesting ways to cut government spending to the Trump team this weekend, but she will have to convince her colleagues in Congress if her ideas are to have any chance of making an impact — like for example, ending the manufacture of pennies and nickels and curbing overpayments for Pentagon goods.
According to her office, Ernst, chair of the newly created Senate Government Efficiency Panel, personally delivered her letter to President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida this weekend.
She also gave Copies of the letter to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s two close allies, who have decided to drastically cut government spending through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Congressmen of both parties behave like Goldilocks when confronted with proposals to ease the burden on the Washington budget,” Ernst wrote in the letter. “It’s too little or too big, always too hard and never just right. But the truth of this fairy tale is that it is impossible to cut Washington’s budget without causing pain.”
The Department of Government Efficiency is not actually a federal department because Congress did not vote to create or fund it. And in general, the executive branch’s ability to boost or decrease federal spending without congressional approval is constrained.
During his first term, Trump attempted to circumvent Congress’s spending powers but was largely unsuccessful due to the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which prevents a president from withholding funds approved by Congress.
The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget presents in one Detailed explanation of the law that in 2019, Trump “was accused of violating the ICA by withholding $214 million in security assistance funds to Ukraine.”
“The Trump administration allegedly attempted to force Ukraine to investigate its political opponents in the run-up to the 2020 election,” CRFB wrote. “This allegation, which was ultimately supported by an independent decision by the Government Accountability Office, became the basis for President Trump’s impeachment by the House of Representatives in December 2019. The Trump Administration ultimately lifted its hold on the funds in question.”
If Trump tried to stop the federal government from spending money appropriated by Congress, it would likely lead to lawsuits and potentially take the matter to the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.
Congress could also try to repeal or amend the 1974 law, but would need to find votes in the House and Senate to do so. Lawmakers would likely want to consider how a future Democratic administration might exploit a Republican Congressional amendment to support a Republican president.
“Life at full speed”
Ernst’s letter recommends roughly $1 trillion in spending cuts to Musk and Ramaswamy, although they do not have and will not have the constitutional authority to cut federal spending if DOGE remains outside the government.
Ernst wrote in the letter that her efforts to reduce government spending during her tenure in the Senate have been “a very lonely battle” because both “Democrats and Republicans always agree when it comes to one issue: a Life in abundance.”
Ernst founded the DOGE Caucus earlier this month to push for concrete spending cuts after Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.
Ted Budd of North Carolina, Texans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mike Lee of Utah, Roger Marshall of Kansan, Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Rick Scott of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska joined all affiliated with the group consisting of Republican senators.
In her letter, Ernst called for several spending cuts, including for the Defense Department, taking an approach similar to that of senior Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley in recent years.
“The Pentagon has never passed an audit and is unable to fully account for its budget. “By its own estimates, the Department of Defense is wasting $125 billion through bloated bureaucracy and inefficiency,” Ernst wrote. “The Department of Defense could save $527 million by streamlining duplication and unnecessary overlap within its warehouse and distribution centers. The Defense Department’s overpayments are legendary, and the department still overpays by nearly $1 million for spare parts. This includes a markup of almost 8,000 percent for a soap dispenser over the retail price and $1,220 for a coffee cup.”
Ernst wrote that bonuses paid to government contractors should also be addressed.
“The Pentagon is paying millions of dollars in unearned bonuses, including $10.6 million to a contractor who created ‘life and safety risks’ for airmen by failing to provide necessary jet parts,” she wrote .
Ernst is a member of the Armed Services Committee, which drafts the Pentagon’s annual bill called the National Defense Authorization Act. But she is not a member of the Appropriations Committee, which drafts the annual defense spending bill.
Office space, pennies and nickels
The federal government, she wrote, should consolidate office space to reflect the fact that many workers no longer go to a physical office five days a week.
“The government also owns 7,697 vacant buildings and another 2,265 that are partially vacant,” Ernst wrote. “An additional $14 million will be spent on leasing unused space and almost an additional $1 million on maintaining it.”
The federal government should stop manufacturing pennies and nickels, which Ernst says cost more than they are worth. Instead, the government should change the “composition of the coins.”
Ernst wrote at the end of the letter that she would send Musk and Ramaswamy more suggestions in the future.
Last updated on November 25, 2024 at 5:19 p.m
