WQOW: Sen. Johnson makes recommendations to reduce federal deficit
By Trent Artus
A Wisconsin lawmaker is offering his own savings plan for the country.
Sen. Ron Johnson, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight of Government management, has his own recommendations. Johnson has submitted them to the committee in charge of cutting the federal deficit.
The recommendations are made up of ideas, old and new, from Johnson and others. Johnson says by not filling ten percent of open positions and freezing pay for three years, the Federal Government can reduce costs by 250 billion dollars.
That is just one of nearly 60 ideas in the recommendation.
"What I'm doing here is proposing things for the committee to consider and I wanted to accumulate and demonstrate you don't have to reinvent the wheel here to search for areas the federal government can be considered for spending reductions," says Sen. Ron Johnson, (R) Wisconsin.
Some recommendations include eliminating Fusion Centers which are used in counterterrorism efforts, the Senior Corps and cutting emergency food and shelter assistance at FEMA.
"Another problem with some of these programs, nobody evaluates whether they're effective or not, so until we have some metrics of if a program is doing what its supposed to do, I don't think we should be spending money on it," says Johnson.
Not only does the recommendation include billions in freezes and cuts to things like federal vehicles, buildings and property, but also what employees contribute to their benefits.
"It's a matter of taking a look at the federal government, their policies, their pay structures and bringing them more in line with what the private sector does because lets face it, the private sector funds government workers," says Johnson.
Some recommendations save more than others, but even some small items can send a message. Johnson says a three-year freeze on pay for members of Congress would save $6 million, consolidating mascots used by the Department of Homeland Security used in marketing would also save money.
"That one would save only $2.6 million which isn't a lot, but it just goes to show the waste that does occur in the federal government," says Johnson.
As for President Obama's deficit reduction plan, which includes raising taxes for the rich, Johnson says it will hurt small businesses and keep them from hiring which is needed to get the economy going.
