AUSTIN—Five federally funded programs that waste more than $4 billion in taxpayer dollars and harm the environment are targets for elimination by an environmental and taxpayer coalition, according to a report released today by TexPIRG, Friends of the Earth, and Taxpayers for Common Sense.
"In the face of record budget deficits, Congress has difficult choices to make. Cutting these wasteful and environmentally harmful programs should be an easy choice", said Luke Metzger, TexPIRG Advocate. "It's simply ridiculous that we spend money we don't have on programs we don't need" continued Metzger.
Green Scissors 2004 focuses on five policies and programs that are particularly outrageous and have been a long-standing drain on federal coffers. Although billions more in wasteful spending exists in the budget, the coalition of taxpayers, environmentalists and budget watchdogs has established priorities for programs that should be eliminated immediately.
The programs and policies targeted in the Green Scissors 2004 report are:
Small Business Tax Credit for the Purchase Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)
A loophole in the federal tax code allows all small businesses, including doctors, lawyers, and real estate agencies, to deduct more than $100,000 of the cost of an SUV from their taxes. Initially intended to benefit farmers and construction workers, the provision makes the purchase of a luxurious $55,000 Hummer completely deductible. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this loophole will cost federal taxpayers more than $1 billion over five years, while simultaneously encouraging the purchase of gas-guzzling SUVs that contribute disproportionately to global warming and other forms of pollution.
Timber Road Subsidies
Every year, the federal government spends millions of dollars subsidizing the timber industry's business costs. The government assists the timber industry by using taxpayer dollars to build roads in our national forests; the private companies then reap huge profits by logging trees in those forests at costs below what they would otherwise pay. More than 380,000 miles of roads have been built in our national forests. The Forest Service has constructed so many roads that it now faces a $10 billion backlog in needed road maintenance. In Texas alone, there is a $133,048,688 backlog in road maintenance.
Delaware River Deepening
This flawed Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) project to deepen the Delaware River will cost taxpayers at least $175 million and severely affect air quality, water quality and wildlife habitat, while providing questionable benefits to the region. The General Accounting Office and independent investigators have repeatedly discredited the Corps benefit-to-cost estimate--highlighting that the project would potentially cost taxpayers twice as much as it would generate in benefits.
Section 29 Tax Credit for Non-Conventional Fuels
One of the most expensive and often abused energy tax credits in existence, the Section 29 tax credit will cost taxpayers $2.8 billion over five years. The credit subsidizes coalbed methane, which is environmentally destructive, and the synthetic fuels industry, which exists primarily to exploit the credit. Although oil and gas prices remain incredibly high, and companies are generating record-profits, they continue to claim billions of dollars in credits at taxpayer's expense. The latest version of
the federal energy bill would extend the credit, costing taxpayers billions more.
Market Access Program
For nearly 20 years, the Market Access Program (MAP) has subsidized the promotion and marketing of U.S. agricultural products overseas. In fiscal year 2003, taxpayers provided $2.7 million in subsidies to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council and $3.5 million to the U.S. Grains Council. Between 1993 and 2002, the federal government spent nearly a billion dollars subsidizing large trade associations and multinationals, including $30,027,094 in Texas. Many of the trade associations and their member corporations that receive funding participate in environmentally destructive practices such as growing genetically engineered crops, logging in national forests, and operating factory farms that generate large amounts of pollution.
The groups applauded the efforts of Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Christopher Shays (Conn.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Steve Chabot (Ohio), and Robert Andrews (N.J.), who have initiated a bipartisan Caucus that seeks to cut harmful and wasteful spending in the federal budget. The groups also called on members on both sides of the aisle to join the Green Scissors Caucus and work to protect taxpayers and the environment.
"As a member of the Congressional Green Scissors Caucus, I commend TexPIRG, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and Friends of the Earth for this important report that identifies unjustified government programs that pad the pockets of a few companies at the expense of the environment and the taxpayers' wallets," explained Congressman Doggett (D-TX). "It is egregious that these programs have continued unabated while the budget deficits grow and grow with no end in sight."
Doggett continued, "In fact, as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I have been working closely with the authors of this report to develop legislation to address one of the priorities in the Green Scissors report - the outrageous and costly Section 29 tax credit. In the next couple of weeks, I will be introducing legislation that will put an end to this wasteful government subsidy that has diverted needed resources away from legitimate efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil."
