WASHINGTON, DC 20515-0604 (202) 225-4676 GREG LOPEZ 271 S ELM AVE. 4th District, Colorado Congress of the United states SUITE 1A EATON, CO 80615 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY hoUse of representatives (970) 702-2136
Washington, dC 20515-0604 900 CASTLETON RD.
SUITE 112 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET CASTLE ROCK, CO 80109 (720) 639-9165 December 5, 2024
Mr. Elon Musk and Mr. Vivek Ramaswamy
Co-Chairmen Department of Government Efficiency
Dear Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy,
The creation of an agency with the sole responsibility of reducing government spending is far overdue. I applaud your willingness to get your hands dirty and eradicate the root causes of this nation’s growing mountain of debt.
One of the largest contributors to wasteful spending that requires your attention in the federal government lies within the Congressional appropriations process.
House Rule XXI(2)(a)(1) applies to funding any unauthorized programs in any general appropriations bill or amendment. It requires the authorization to be enacted prior to consideration of an appropriation. However, since the 80th Congress, the House has, through the rule, declined to enforce Rule XXI(2). These expenditures without authorizations are called Zombie Appropriations, and they are one of largest single contributors to the mounting debt. These “Zombie Appropriations” are pervasive, expensive, and increasing.
The American people would be shocked to know that every year Congress spends hundreds of billions of dollars without a single vote. In 2024 alone, Congress spent $516 billion on unauthorized appropriations, spanning 1,264 expired authorizations as reported by the Congressional Budget Office.
This spending is a result of Congress blatantly shirking their main oversight responsibility: fiscal accountability. Congress funnels half a Trillion in taxpayer dollars to expired programs. In fact, almost half of the spending on Zombie appropriations in 2024 went to programs that expired more than 10 years ago.
For too many years Congressional bodies and Presidential administrations have ignored dealing with these programs. Both parties are guilty of continuing this trend.
Below are just a few of the zombie programs that not only waste away millions every year but also further extreme liberal agendas:
The Clean School Bus Program, authorized under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act is an example of distorted progressive priorities operating without oversight. Energy and Commerce Chairwoman Cathy McMorris- Rodgers and Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Chair Bill Johnson penned a letter to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan alleging among other offenses– that grantees had ignored legislative intent to push electric buses, ignored cost efficient alternatives to electric buses and blocked competitors from resources. This program has been unauthorized since 2010, under an initial statutory appropriation of $500,000,000.
The Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative
This program was authorized under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This program has spent an unidentifiable amount while being authorized at a level of $200,000,000. This law also stated that newly constructed federal buildings as well as those undergoing major renovations were required to phase out “fossil fuel-generated energy consumption by 2030”, however, regulations were never finalized to implement the law and compliance of it hasn’t been tracked since 2007. The Energy Department admits that no timeline is in place for finishing the proposed regulations. This program has been unauthorized since 2018.
National Endowment for the Arts.
The CBO lists the amount of identified spending at $414,000,000 dollars since initial authorization. The following are a collection of grants that the NEA has given: • $845,000 to support film festivals that showcased movies with decapitated heads and public urination. • $95,000 to adapt Shakespeare without words • $10,000 for a play about two anti-gun lesbians • $50,000 to help bring “Trans Scripts” to the theater; hundreds of thousands more to support LGBTQ issues • $50,000 to the City of San Fernando, CA, for its Mariachi Master Apprentice Program • $10,000 to the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles in Fiscal Years (2019, 2018, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2005). • $495,000 to create medieval smells in a museum • $45,000 for a production of “Doggie Hamlet” • $10,000 for patrons to spend an hour communing a Saguaro Cactus.
The NEA grants program has been unauthorized since 1993.
Department of Health and Human Services project grants and contracts for family planning services and for family planning and population growth information.
This program was originally authorized at $162,000,000 dollars but has spent nearly $286,000,000 dollars since it’s authorization. This program has been unauthorized since 1985. This program is ripe for elimination because so many of the programs within the title x program promote abortion. • The Baltimore City Health Department with an annual Funding of $750,000. Promotes abortion to teens under a Sexual and Reproductive Justice frame that promotes abortion as a positive good. • $750,000 dollars in annual funding to Guttmacher Institute. This organization proudly proclaims a mission to “promoting access to abortion services.”
Title X grantees include Planned Parenthoods of Southern New England, Northern,
Central and Southern New Jersey and others. This program has been unauthorized since 1986.
How did we get here? How did we get so off-course we’re now spending half a trillion dollars on old, expired programs? The blame lies solely with Congress, who’s complacency has allowed the federal budget to become more about preserving the status quo than holding the government accountable. Instead of calling out our Representatives for their egregious actions, we’ve allowed Congress to fund these programs indefinitely.
The American people deserve better than this. They deserve transparency. They deserve accountability. And they deserve a government that is more than a bureaucratic machine burning through billions, regardless of a program’s necessity. Every program that is necessary would have no problem being reauthorized. We now turn to the two of you, Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy, to shine the light on how poorly Congress is stewarding taxpayer dollars. It is our hope that DOGE exposes the zombie programs to the American people and to the Trump Administration so that Congressmen of every party may be forced to change their ways.
The urgency of this matter cannot be understated, as our debt continues to balloon. Congress must feel the pressure of having to justify their spending, as was originally intended. DOGE has the opportunity to shine the harsh light of truth on one of D.C.’s messiest secrets. But this is not just a problem for DOGE or the Trump Administration to fix—it’s a problem for all of us. The American people must hold their elected officials accountable. They must demand that their representatives stand up and take responsibility for the responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
Collectively, we need to demand that every program receiving taxpayer dollars is regularly reviewed and reauthorized, ending the zombie programs that continue year after year without a vote. We must ensure that each program Congress chooses to fund is needed, effective, and serving the needs of the American people. It’s time for Congress to do its job—to take responsibility for the money we are spending and ensure that every dollar is justified. The only way that happens is through rigorous scrutiny by DOGE, pressure by the Trump Administration, and awareness of the American people.
Together, we can change Congressional priorities back to being accountable for the tax dollars they spend.
I look forward to working with you in any way to accomplish this goal of greater government efficiency and zero zombie programs.
The Mueller Report: The Law behind the Jurisdiction and the Power of a Special Counsel & Full Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election
United States v. James Nicolapolous Theodore Polatsidis Fotis Halkis Dimitrios Velentzas Stavros Orkopoulos Dimitrios Karytinos and Kostas Giannikaris, Michael Grillo Peter Drakoulis and Spyredon Velentzas, 30 F.3d 381, 2d Cir. (1994)
The Mueller Report: The Law behind the Jurisdiction and the Power of a Special Counsel & Full Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election
United States v. James Nicolapolous Theodore Polatsidis Fotis Halkis Dimitrios Velentzas Stavros Orkopoulos Dimitrios Karytinos and Kostas Giannikaris, Michael Grillo Peter Drakoulis and Spyredon Velentzas, 30 F.3d 381, 2d Cir. (1994)
