From the office of Congressman Andy Harris:
On May 8, the House passed an amendment offered by Rep. Andy Harris that saves hard-working taxpayers $542,000. The amendment removes a 56% increase in funding required in the President’s budget for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate website. The amendment would maintain level funding for the program. This was one of only three successful amendments to the appropriations bill now before the House that reduces spending.
“In these tough fiscal times, I believe that all government agencies have to live within their means like our hard-working American families,” said Rep. Andy Harris. “I don’t know of many Maryland families who have received a 56% increase in their incomes this year during the longest sustained period of high unemployment in our country’s history – and it’s not fair for a government agency to do so either. I will continue to serve as a watchdog against excessive government spending for the hard-working taxpayers who are entitled to know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely.”
Rep. Harris’ amendment was one of only three included in the 2013 budget for Commerce, Justice and Science and Related Agencies.
Good job Andy. Science has no place in a developed country like the United States. Let’s just go back to being a theocracy like Iran. Let’s take our belief of our relationship with the environment from a guy who knows everything in a book written by various unknown authors of thousands of years like it’s some sort of gospel. Good on you Andy. Now could you please kill Defense Acquisition University? Clearly the Lockheed Martin F-35 didn’t abide by the suggested path towards development and acquisition, which only explains why the planes now cost over $70 million a piece and still don’t meet their requirements off the assembly line – because we haven’t finished testing. Do it Andy… show us your higher ideals.
Thanks, for those comments, sir.
I already have an adequate weather forecasting system using the pain in my joints from past injuries. I’m thinking about breaking a leg next year to add tornado warnings to my observation platform.
Did you offer any other ammendments to cut other increased budgets? Like Defense? After all the DOD can’t even tell you how they spent the money you gave them.
Congrats…saving $500k in spending increases in the Federal budget is basically like me deciding not to buy an extra pack of gum at the 7-11 this year.
These are the kinds of cuts that have to take place. Is it much, no but it’s a start. Should things like defense be cut, probably considerably, where possible but I would rather have the cuts to the weather program first and then hack away at national defense. Nobody said that science isn’t important, and nobody said that the research had to stop. The funding is for a site that compiles data, not for the folks that collect it all over the world. Some are so quick to try to paint anybody who questions topics like climate change as ignorant or selfish, when there is much reason to be skeptical. There are as many experts that speak out about climate change as there are that speak for it. Just because the scientists doesn’t support your beliefs doesn’t mean he’s a quack. I happen to love studying the weather and think that it’s great to have a place to find real data that is coming in regarding the climate, but of all the things that are important in life this ranks pretty low right now. It would be great if this was just the tip of the iceberg and we could see big cuts on lots of programs like this right now.
Yes, but it’s not a budget cut. It just removed a budget increase.
I agree that cuts have to start somewhere and many of them will be probably small (and IF enough are made they’ll start adding up), but putting out a press release for this?
Worse yet it is a removed budget increase that is being moved to increase another item! So it has no net lose on the budget.
Thanks Andy for saving us from that mean ol web page designer. Fool.
I wanna thank andy for doing another useless thing. He took money from NOAA and saved it for the budget. Yeah OK. Must be like his health insurance. Saw an issue that he didn’t like and thinks we are all blind sheep. Good job for nothing! Global Warming……truth or myth?
At the risk of sounding contrary… funding for the website wasn’t cut – it was held at current levels. If I budget $50 a month for an expense and think it deserves $75; the wife disagrees and we hold spending at $50 – hate to tell you this, that is not a spending cut.
I admit half a million in a bloated federal spending aparatus is more symbolic than substantive; but it has to start somewhere.
Aside from that… I visited the website before posting. For half a million I would expect more. In all honesty it looks like something I could do from an out-dated laptop; and I’d be willing to do it for only a quarter million! Where do I apply?
Yes but this is a little different and more akin to you had a $50 budget for a lawnmower that needs a tuneup in order to be more effective and you find it costs $75 to get it done right. Since your wife wants to make a point she vetos your increase request for the tune-up budget increase all the while still allowing spending on an unneeded pair of shoes and you have to sacrifice part of the tune-up leaving you with a less than effective lawn mower.
Commercial Business Daily or FedBizOps. That’s how a contractor in New Jersey was allowed to participate in a government contract where I was asked to provide a sole source justification. It was a no-brainer to me: the company was the only one that makes the gages therefor they were a sole source. So what did our illustrious contracting people do? They gave the award to the guy in New Jersey for exactly $852 more than if they bought it form the original sole source. And I spoke to the guy, he was never going to lay a hand on the gages, he wasn’t going to service them after the sale, he wasn’t even going to handle warranty replacements. He told me the original manufacturer was going to handle all that. And the contracting person told me how proud she was that she competed it to small business. I told her you didn’t compete a thing, you made a welfare payment to a man identified as a small business and you cost the government more money in the process. I also added that the standard for ethics used in contracting revolves around having your name associated with the solicitation in the news. I told her I would not be comfortable having my name associated with this award of this solicitation. Her conscience was not swayed.
Looked into what this website is supposed to offer. It is supposed to bring together climate data from a variaty of sources. Seems that Harris thuinks this is somehow bad or not worth the investment.
It also appears this is not a savings at all because the identical sum of money was added to a Regional Sharing activities for local law enforcement!!!!
“In these tough fiscal times, I believe that all government agencies have to live within their means like our hard-working American families,” said Rep. Andy Harris. This includes financing your Cadillac health insurance that you insisted be effective from day 1 of your service when the plans offered to middle class Americans have a probationary period of 60 to 90 days. Are you paying the difference of this coverage yourself or are the tax payers on the hook?
Mac G,
Actually most corporate health plans do not have a waiting period and are effective on day 1 of employment.
You just can’t get it thru your thick head that Andy isn’t even covered by the plan can you? Or is it just that you repeating the often rebutted lie that he is covered bolsters your otherwise silly argument?
Now if Andy could only do something about the oil subsidies that we give the oil industry every year. You saved us what we give BP as a $225,000 a day tax break for renting the Deepwater Horizon for TWO days (you remember the oil spill don’t you?).
You voted to not save $53 billion in taxpayer funds that go to the largest oil companies that, between 2005 and 2009, have made a combined 485 billion dollars in PROFITS (that’s almost half a Trillion dollars.) Good job Andy, your masters are proud of you! BTW Andy are you doing anything to stop the natural gas pipeline going through Harford County?
Have to agree with PTBL – all corporate welfare and subsidies should be eliminated.
Then – corporate tax rates should be cut drastically to make us more competitive globally. Bring those jobs back to the USA or at least make it more attractive to entreprenuers beginning a business.
This whole thread exposes the problem in DC where eliminating an increase in the budget is called a cut and bandied about as a noble gesture. We need true cuts, less spending and there is plenty of waste to be eliminated. The only problem is as soon as that is suggested, the response is how many people will be harmed if we take that step. Totally irresponsible and uncompromising.
I would support cutting corporate taxes and eliminating the loopholes. We need to bring all those jobs back home, e.g., Apple has 45K American jobs and 750K Chinese jobs.
So if a proud liberal and true conservative agree – why can’t DC jump on board?
It all goes back to money and who is holding the purse strings. Pull the money out of DC, place it back to the States and hold them accountable. We have so many layers of government with essentially identical functions. A restructuring is certainly in order.
Funny you mention that. NOAA tried to restructure and streamline operations so they could do “more with less” Andy Harris and his committee did not approve the requested reorganization even though it cost no additional money. In fact they even felt they could reduce their budget for this year if it was allowed.
You guys are meeting in the middle. There is sufficient agreement in this case where the two of you can meet in the middle. Welcome to the chunky part of the Bell Curve. Be proud of yourselves – this is more agreement than has been displayed by our elected representatives. I’m sure they are paid much more than you too.
Taxpayer: Because the Tea Party votes against ANY and EVERY democratic issue. It is because the GOP puts partisanship politics before the people. Ask instead why do tea partiers consistently vote against their own best interests? Why do they vote to help billionaires who do not give a fig for them? I don’t know, it seems counter to reason to me.
Proud,
I am 100% with you in theory. When it comes to implementation I’m not so sure. If Apple brought all of the jobs to the US and if your number of 750K jobs in China is correct then I don’t think Apple would be able to sell their products in a large part of the world because the products would cost more than many could afford. Would the corporate tax breaks you propose to give to Apple offset the price increase so that selling prices remain the same? Likely not but I really don’t know for sure. Would Apple apply all of the proposed tax savings to reducing selling price so that selling price does not increase? Maybe. Will the current administration support corporate tax reductions coupled with closing loopholes? Very unlikely. Even as a conservative I can’t justify the oil industry tax loopholes. I know why they were implemented but I can no longer justify them and wouldn’t try. But then each side has stuff that their leaders support but can’t really be justified by any rational argument – it’s not just a Conservative thing.
And there we have it. Vote them all out. Every last one, as many times as it takes, until they start listening to us and acting in a mature and reasonable manner.
If we do not do this, in whatever manner this country fails to act or be, the responsility will be ours.
Our government still is by the people, even if it isn’t for the people, and we can’t wash our hands of its failures if we don’t take steps to fix this ourselves.
Proud,
Let me address your remark that the Tea Party votes against any and every Democratic issue. First, the GOP is not the Tea Party and the Tea Party is not the GOP. You know that but it helps the Dem/Lib cause to try to make that connection.
Second, although I am not part of the Tea Party, I understand where they are coming from. For far too many years they have heard politicians talking about cutting the budget when that is an absolute lie. Even today O’Malley is referring to all of the budget ‘cuts’ but in fact the budget is now higher than last year. He and Miller and Busch are convening a special session to raise taxes and raise the budget even further. When the budget goes up year over year EVERY year and O’Malley et al repeatedly say the have cut it then some folks throw up their hands and say “Enough! I can’t believe what they say because all they do is call an increase a cut.”
That leads to the stance of “NO MORE TAX INCREASES!” Not for anything no matter how well intentioned. Not one more dime. Many folks are now saying, and I am one of them, if you think I am so stupid to believe a budget increase is a ‘cut’ then I can no longer trust anything you tell me so no more taxes because you have enough. Just change how it is spent. I believe the only way we can actually get somewhere is to force politicians to live on the existing revenue and see if their loyalties are to the people or to their special interest groups that fund them.
I am tired of being lied to so it may well be that they all have to go.
ALEX R: If it makes you feel any better to think that the Tea Party and the GOP are not one and the same: keep saying so. But since the Tea Party controls the GOP and the proud, reliable Republican Party (the party of Lincoln, Sherman, Roosevelt, Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, and Eisenhower) trembles at every whisper from these people, I’ll keep this association. If you can explain how staunch Republicans such as Richard Lugar or even our Congressman Wayne Gilchrest are thrown out of office by Tea Party candidates, I’ll listen.
As a TEA party member, the GOP does not represent my interests any longer as they have taken a steady drift to the left since the 60’s. When I hear Democrats (liberals) talking about raising taxes, fair share, etc. and then look at the myriad of ineffective programs sucking that money out of the Treasury, with little or no accountability, it is frustrating. There is little oversight on spending, yet we are constantly told we are not sending enough. Trillion dollar deficits!! Where is the accountability?!
While looking back, where is the Democratic Party of JFK? – ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country’. Today’s Democratic Party does not represent that, instead they talk of ‘Julia’ who is to ride throught life comfortably on the wings of government programs, supported by other people’s money. As they are finding out in California, other people’s money runs dry.
Noble,
I am with you. Vote them all out if that is what it takes. And keep doing it until the message is received loud and clear and dramatic changes are made. If the baby goes with the bath water, too bad. I’m tired of being lied to.
I’ve said it before. There’s not a single incumbent who is getting my vote in November. I don’t care if they have an R, D, I, L, whatever after their name. If they’re in office, I’m not voting for them.
Politicians at every level of government have failed this country for years…probably because by and large they’re politicians, not leaders.
Just one more thing to add: (if it pleases The Dagger)
http://www.campaign4primaryaccountability.org/