{"id":2376975,"date":"2024-12-06T06:30:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T11:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-tapped-federal-budget-cutters-musk-and-ramaswamy-face-challenge-of-convincing-lawmakers-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-06T06:35:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T11:35:39","slug":"trump-tapped-federal-budget-cutters-musk-and-ramaswamy-face-challenge-of-convincing-lawmakers-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-tapped-federal-budget-cutters-musk-and-ramaswamy-face-challenge-of-convincing-lawmakers-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump-tapped federal budget-cutters Musk and Ramaswamy face challenge of convincing lawmakers &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-tapped-federal-budget-cutters-musk-and-ramaswamy-face-challenge-of-convincing-lawmakers-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2376975&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u200b discusses \u200dthe challenges faced by wealthy supporters Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are co-chairing an advisory\u200c panel under president-elect Donald Trump aimed at cutting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-reasons-making-taxpayers-pay-off-student-loans-is-a-rotten-idea\/\" title=\"5 Reasons Making Taxpayers Pay Off Student Loans Is A Rotten Idea\">federal budget<\/a>. Since the establishment of the Department\u2062 of \u200bGovernment Efficiency \u2064in mid-November, Musk and Ramaswamy are seeking ways to improve the nation\u2019s financial situation, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/better-than-expected-u-s-economy-added-638000-jobs-in-october-unemployment-dropped-to-6-9\/\" title=\"Better Than Expected: U.S. Economy Added 638,000 Jobs in October, Unemployment Dropped to 6.9%\">federal government<\/a> currently spends $6 trillion \u200bannually and has\u2063 a\u200b deficit of\u2064 $2 trillion, contributing to a national debt of $37 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>Musk advocates\u200c for \u200bbalancing the budget without tax increases, \u2063which would \u2063require $2\u200d trillion in cuts,\u2064 a daunting task due \u2064to the\u200c significant costs associated with \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yellen-warns-congress-extraordinary-measures-have-begun-after-debt-ceiling-breached\/\" title=\"Yellen Warns Congress \u2018Extraordinary Measures\u2019 Have Begun After Debt Ceiling Breached\">mandatory spending programs<\/a> like \u2062Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Additionally, \u2063interest payments on the debt and national defense expenditures add to the complexity of achieving these cuts, as neither Musk nor Ramaswamy have shown\u200b a willingness to address \u2063these major\u2062 budget \u200careas.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, they \u2062are exploring potential savings within the \u2062discretionary spending portion of the budget, which amounts to $1.7 trillion.\u200b They \u200bhave indicated \u200bthat approximately $500 billion could be cut from spending that is\u200c unauthorized or misallocated. though,\u200d the process of identifying and enacting \u200cthese cuts is complex incidentally\u2063 Congressional budget \u2062procedures\u2063 work, were two separate laws are required to authorize and appropriate funds.The article emphasizes the need\u2064 for Congress to actively engage in this budget oversight to avoid inefficient spending practices. significant\u2064 reforms will be necessary to address the federal budget\u200b effectively.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump-tapped federal budget-cutters Musk and Ramaswamy face challenge of convincing lawmakers<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1889420\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The Department of Government Efficiency has been much in the news since its creation was <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kleavittnh\/status\/1856495794171301965\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">announced<\/a> in mid-November by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">President-elect Donald Trump<\/a>. Wealthy supporters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Elon Musk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vivek-ramaswamy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Vivek Ramaswamy<\/a>, the co-chairmen of the advisory panel, are collecting ideas to right the nation&rsquo;s finances.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Good ideas are needed. The federal government spends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3111122\/happy-50th-birthday-congressional-budget-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$6 trillion<\/a> annually, runs a $2 trillion deficit, and has piled up $37 trillion in debt.<\/p>\n<p>Musk has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1860211822722449910\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">stated<\/a> he wants to balance the budget. With tax increases off the table, that would necessitate $2 trillion in cuts. Though much needed, large reductions in spending will not be easy to achieve. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other &ldquo;mandatory spending&rdquo; forms cost nearly $4 trillion annually. Payments to investors for interest on the debt amount to about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiscal.treasury.gov\/files\/reports-statements\/mts\/mts0824.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">a trillion dollars<\/a>, and national defense runs north of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3703410\/department-of-defense-releases-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2025-defense-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$800 million<\/a>. To date, neither Trump, Musk, nor Ramaswamy have shown any interest in cutting these outlays.<\/p>\n<p>That leaves them looking for savings in the discretionary portion of the budget, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/publication\/59728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$1.7 trillion<\/a> in spending appropriated by Congress each year. Musk and Ramaswamy have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/musk-and-ramaswamy-the-doge-plan-to-reform-government-supreme-court-guidance-end-executive-power-grab-fa51c020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">pointed out<\/a> that $500 billion of those dollars are &ldquo;unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended, from $535 million a year to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $1.5 billion for grants to international organizations to nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Washington Examiner Illustration; AP Photos; Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The reader of that statement would be forgiven for imagining that unelected bureaucrats were reaching into the U.S. Treasury to spend money pell-mell. It is a bit more complicated than that, and Congress, not bureaucrats, are to blame.<\/p>\n<p>Under the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act, Congress is supposed to pass <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R46497\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">two laws<\/a> to spend money for any purpose. First, it should enact an authorization law to permit an agency to spend a certain amount of money on a particular purpose in a certain year. Subsequently, Congress should pass an appropriations statute that enables an agency to spend a specified amount of money equal to or less than the amount authorized.<\/p>\n<p>Congress, for example, authorized the U.S. Fire Administration, which <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">aids local fire departments<\/a> through grants, to spend <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$77 million<\/a> in 2023. However, it only appropriated <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R48283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$58 million<\/a> that year.<\/p>\n<p>Congress first started using a two-step approach in the <a href=\"https:\/\/kevinrkosar.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Tollestrup-Spending-on-Unauthorized-programs-02-03-2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-trumps-lawyers-offer-former-presidents-answer-to-impeachment-article-on-incitement-of-insurrection\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Trump\u2019s Lawyers Offer Former President\u2019s Answer To Impeachment Article On Incitement Of Insurrection\">mid-19th century<\/a><\/a>, which legislators had good reasons for adopting. Not least, completing two steps makes it more difficult to spend money. Additionally, this method permits Congress to adjust spending to shifting circumstances. If the economy wobbles and tax revenues slide, it can spend less than it authorized. Government growth also might be curbed, legislators imagined, if programs&rsquo; ability to receive funds timed out. If Congress and the president could not agree to reauthorize a program, it would die. Requiring that programs and agencies be reauthorized offers regular opportunities to rethink and revise policies &mdash; a cornerstone of congressional oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Congress all too often allows authorizations of expenditures to expire and then appropriates money anyway. Earlier this year, the Congressional Budget Office identified 1,264 already expired authorizations and another 251 that were ending in autumn. These are the $500 billion (actually $516 billion) flagged by Musk and Ramaswamy. Unauthorized appropriations are increasing. Ten years ago, Congress spent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2019-04\/49871-uaeaappropriations.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$294 billion<\/a> on 260 expired federal programs.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, half a billion dollars in &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/CHRG-116shrg38897\/pdf\/CHRG-116shrg38897.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">zombie spending and programs<\/a>&rdquo; (as they have been called) is not a good thing. Partly, it is a product of Congress eschewing an old practice: writing laws that authorize permanent or near-permanent appropriations. The <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R45808\/2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Small Business Administration<\/a> can receive funds forever, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R45808\/2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">September 11th Victim Compensation Fund<\/a> was authorized through the year 2090.<\/p>\n<p>The broken congressional budget product does not help matters. More and more frequently, Congress enacts unauthorized appropriations through continuing resolutions, laws that essentially say, &ldquo;Every agency should keep spending as it did last year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>More fundamentally, skyrocketing unauthorized appropriations are a symptom of the sprawl of the federal government. Every time Congress creates a new program, it adds another item to a future Congress&rsquo;s list to oversee and reauthorize. With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/agencies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">441 federal agencies<\/a> administering untold thousands of programs, it is inevitable that authorizations would expire.<\/p>\n<p>Can the DOGE do anything about this situation? Certainly, it helpfully drew attention to the problem. Cutting spending, however, will require it and Trump administration heavyweights to huddle with the legislators who hold the purse strings to separate the good agencies and policies from the bad. Should Congress abolish spending on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/114th-congress\/house-bill\/34\/text\">21st Century Cures Act<\/a>, which funds medical research on opioid addiction and tick-borne diseases? What about the <a href=\"https:\/\/uscode.house.gov\/view.xhtml?path=\/prelim@title52\/subtitle3\/chapter301&amp;edition=prelim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Federal Election Commission<\/a>, which was last reauthorized in 1981? It will be a messy and frustrating process, but it has to be done for the DOGE to plausibly claim &ldquo;Mission accomplished.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>Kevin R. Kosar (@kevinrkosar) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and edits UnderstandingCongress.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1889420\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1889420\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musk and Ramaswamy face challenges in convincing lawmakers on budget cuts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3532,"featured_media":2376976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/WB.Congress.121124.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[46244,3673,4250,18538,3634],"class_list":["post-2376975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-federal-budget","tag-lawmakers","tag-musk","tag-ramaswamy","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/WB.Congress.121124.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3532"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2376975"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2376979,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376975\/revisions\/2376979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2376976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2376975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2376975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2376975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}