July 25, 2013

Dear Senator:

As you consider S.1243, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2014, Taxpayers for Common Sense urges you to support amendments that will rein in wasteful spending and increase transparency for the nation’s taxpayers. As Congress continues to work to reduce overall spending and reduce the nation’s nearly $17 trillion debt, these amendments represent common sense approaches to reduce wasteful or unnecessary spending.

TCS urges you to support the following amendments introduced by Sen. Coburn:

Amendment #1750 to prohibit federal funds from paying salaries of federal tax cheats. This amendment would encourage the collection of the $1 billion owed in back taxes by current federal employees and contractors, and help prevent growing this number in the future.

Amendment #1752 to strike Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) funding. SCASDP was created to assist small airports in attracting sufficient and cost-effective air service. The program is a documented failure and should be eliminated. This amendment will defund it for FY2014.

Amendment #1756 to require all non-classified reports required in this act be made available to the public. Making reports required in appropriations and authorizing bills public will provide a greater depth of understanding of how tax dollars are spent. These reports are paid for by taxpayers and should be available to taxpayers.

Amendment #1757 to require a report from the secretary of HUD on legislative options to update the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula. Reliance on a formula that is unchanged since 1978 has led to inefficient distribution of CDBG funds. Some of the richest counties in the nation receive millions in CDBG funds while some of the poorest counties receive nothing. This is ridiculous on its face, and this amendment would simply ask the Secretary to consider how the formula could be changed.

Amendment #1757 to reduce funding for the Community Development Block Grant program to the level recommended by the president. The president’s request was for $2.798 billion, but the bill under consideration funds it at $3.15 billion. CDBG received $16 billion in the Sandy Supplemental spending bill from earlier this year – money that could be spent in any state with a major disaster declaration in 2011, 2012, or 2013 (47 states qualify) – so the president’s requested level is more than adequate to fund the programs needs in the next fiscal year. In fact, the program could sustain a more substantial cut than is even proposed in this amendment.

TCS urges your support for these amendments and others that help reduce spending in a responsible manner or create transparency where none now exists. For more information please contact me or Erich Zimmermann at 202-546-8500 or erich [at] taxpayer.net.

Sincerely,

Ryan Alexander
President