Dear Representative:

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action urges you to support Representative Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) amendments to cut wasteful programs from H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007. The “Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Puppy Program” puts the government in the role of being the breeder of bomb-sniffing dogs – clearly a role for the private sector and the “Over-The-Road Bus Security Assistance” is redundant of an existing Intercity Bus Security Program that already subsidizes security efforts by private bus lines. Taxpayers for Common Sense Action urges you to support Flake amendments #15 and #16 to H.R. 1401.

Sec. 203 of H.R. 1401 authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” to increase the number puppies produced by TSA’s “puppy program” which “breeds, raises, and prepares puppies to be future explosives-detection dogs within the National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program.” While cute and cuddly, raising puppies is not an inherently governmental activity. In this endeavor, the federal government’s goal is a 50% success rate raising a capable bomb-sniffing dog – that means the federal government ends up being in the pet adoption business as well. There is a significant need for bomb-sniffing dogs and other animals on the federal, state and local level and this is clearly an activity that should contracted out.

Sec. 107 of H.R. 1401 creates a new program – “Over-The-Road Bus Security Assistance” – at an authorized cost of $87 million over the next 4 years. This program appears to be redundant of the existing Intercity Bus Security Grant Program that in 2005 awarded nearly $10 million in grants to many of the same companies that would benefit from the new program. Rather than providing additional corporate welfare, these private bus companies should bear security costs of protecting their customers. Congress certainly should not be layering on additional subsidies.

Our nation faces critical homeland security needs. But spending more on wasteful programs does little to increase security and may in fact distract government from meeting the basic needs of the citizenry. We urge you to support the Flake amendments to H.R. 1401 and help redirect the Department of Homeland Security’s attention to our nation’s true security needs. Please contact me or Steve Ellis, 202-546-8500 ext. 126 or steve@taxpayer.net with questions.

Sincerely,

Ryan Alexander
President