NORRISTOWN – A coalition of environmental and government reform advocates was in Norristown on Thursday to urge Congress to save $380 billion over five years by ending wasteful spending they say harms the environment.
“The federal deficit is a concern to everyone. It’s not just something in Washington. It actually has impact everywhere and we think that these are cuts that really show that you can bring together the left and the right and you can come to compromise and come to solutions and cuts that everybody can agree to,” said Autumn Hanna, senior program manager for Taxpayers for Common Sense, and co-author of the 2011 Green Scissors Report.
The report provides recommendations to lawmakers on how to end wasteful and environmentally harmful federal spending and therefore, improve the environment.
“For more than 16 years, the Green Scissors campaign has focused on ending wasteful government spending that also damages the environment,” Hanna said during a news conference outside the Montgomery County Courthouse. “Over the years, we’ve built a strong case that the federal government can protect our natural resources, reduce spending and reduce the national debt.”
Hanna was joined by representatives from Heartland Institute, Friends of the Earth, Three Mile Island Alert and Kitchen Table Patriots.
“We identified more than $380 billion in wasteful government subsidies that are damaging to the environment and also costing taxpayers billions,” Hanna said as several members of the public visiting the courthouse stopped to listen.
The coalition made the recommendations as congressional members appointed to the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction develop a deficit reduction package to trim about $1.5 trillion from the federal deficit. If the committee does not reach agreement, then Congress can make blanket cuts, officials said.
Hanna said the coalition hopes the so-called “super committee” members read the Green Scissors Report.
“The report is for all lawmakers. These problems aren’t going to go away in a day. But we do think the super committee has a unique opportunity to make some of these changes and do it right away,” Hanna said.
The Green Scissors Report addresses environmentally harmful spending in four areas: energy, agriculture, transportation and land and water.
“Each of these areas offers billions of dollars in cuts for the super committee,” Hanna claimed.
In the area of agriculture, for example, the report highlights more than $56 billion in cuts, covering subsidies in commodity crops, crop insurance and the market access program.
“It brings together ideologically diverse perspectives and shows us that we can come to compromise and reach deficit reduction in a bipartisan fashion,” said Hanna, referring to the report.
“Key to this report is addressing all forms of wasteful spending. Subsidies come in many forms, from direct spending on government programs, to tax expenditures and loan guarantees,” Hanna said. “All areas of government waste must be addressed to tackle our nation’s $1.5 trillion deficit.”
Ben Schreiber, climate and energy tax analyst for Friends of the Earth, a nonpartisan environmental advocacy group, also co-wrote the report.
“It’s a consensus document. These are cuts that, even though we have diverse groups with really diverse views about the role of government and environmental protection, we can come together and reach a consensus on these massive cuts. All of these are programs that would help the environment just by implementing government action,” Schreiber claimed.
For more information about the report, citizens can review it at www.greenscissors.com
Green Scissors advocate an end to government spending that also damages environment (The Reporter)
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