A department-by-department guide to cutting the federal government's budget.
The Department of Education provides loans and grants to college students and subsidizes elementary and secondary schools.
The department will spend $78 billion in 2009, or $667 for every U.S. household. It employs 4,100 workers and oversees more than 2,050 pages of regulations.
The Department of Energy oversees nuclear weapons sites, runs electric utilities, and subsidizes conventional and alternative fuels.
The department will spend $29 billion in 2009, or about $248 for every U.S. household. It employs 16,000 workers directly and oversees 100,000 contract workers.
The Department of Agriculture administers large farm subsidy programs and runs the food stamp and school lunch programs.
The department will spend $116 billion in 2009, or about $991 for every U.S. household. It employs 96,000 workers and runs 198 different subsidy programs.
Cost Overruns: It's the Same in Britain
The Taxpayers' Alliance has published a new study examining a sample of 240 government capital projects in Britain, including weapons systems, highway projects, computer upgrades, health care spending, and other items. The results mirror the serious cost overrun problems we have in the U.S. federal government. Read more
$98 Billion in Improper Payments
The Obama administration and its allies in Congress want the federal government to expand its role in subsidizing health care. We are told that this expansion will restrain rising health care costs. But an OMB report yesterday that the government made $98 billion in improper payments last year -- $55 billion of which came from Medicare and Medicaid -- ought to raise suspicions about that claim. Read more
Government Mail Loses $3.8 Billion
