Open Letter to Cong. John Ratcliffe – Cut Federal Spending

12 February 2014

Honorable John Ratcliffe
6531 Horizon Road
Suite A
Rockwall, Texas 75032

Subject: Cut Federal Spending Now

Congressman,

Herewith are my suggestions toward reducing out-of-control federal spending.

Bureau of Land Management

During the Obama-initiated budget sequestration, due to his personal failure to work with Congress and follow the law, a flood of information came to the light on the scope of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) control over vast sections of our country.

The BLM controls approximately 85% of the state of Nevada and approximately 50% of all western lands. Those federally-controlled lands effectively serve as unincorporated states, thereby depriving citizens of those states of reasonable use of those lands. I cite rancher Cliven Bundy’s successful stand off against BLM employees who attempted to alter historical use of grazing lands by this rancher. Potentially lethal tensions remain. Will the BLM return with more heavily armed forces?

I suggest we turn over all federal lands under BLM control to the states in which those lands lie.

Dollars saved: $1,200,000,000

National Park Service

This president instructed his subordinates to make the sequester painful to citizens. This is perhaps the only thing with which he has achieved success. You will remember the shameful things done to our citizen visitors to Washington sites, but let’s look at just one: the Grand Canyon.

Visitors from around the world make Arizona a destination of a lifetime to view the grandeur of the largest, most extraordinary canyon on the face of the earth. Literature distributed on at visitor centers can be found in many languages.

When Obama announced closure of this national park, the state of Arizona immediately offered to pay for its continued operation. Why? This park is a major source of revenue to the people of that state and Arizona alone can afford to operate the park. Amazing. Won’t you agree?

I suggest we turn over control of all national parks to the respective states in which national parks lie.

Those sites within the Washington, D.C.-Virginia area can be easily contracted out to commercial enterprises that would pay taxes, instead of drawing salaries from the federal treasury.

Dollars saved: $2,600,000,000

Environmental Protection Agency

Like the BLM and NPS, this agency has also become a political tool of this sitting president. As you no doubt know, the EPA has become a government-unto-itself pumping out tens of thousands of regulations for which scope of power no citizen can begin to comprehend, much less avoid violations of those regulations.

There isn’t one state among the 50 that doesn’t have a comparable agency working within those respective jurisdictions to protect sensitive environmental resources.

I suggest we unfund and/or eliminate the EPA.

Dollars saved: $7,890,000,000 

Summary

News stories from time to time reveal waste, fraud and abuse by federal employees and some contractors. You will probably recall revelations of federal employees with nothing to do but view pornographic websites while “on the clock”. Because they have nothing to do, I suggest cutting funding. I know, I know Congress can pass legislation to make such activity unlawful. Just eliminating the worthless jobs would take care of the problem automatically with no Congressional oversight, no weary inspector generals wasting time before Congressional committees.

Thank you for your attention to these suggestions.

John White
Rockwall, Texas

Congressman John Ratcliffe contact information

Email: https://ratcliffe.house.gov/contact
6531 Horizon Road
Suite A
Rockwall, TX 75032
Phone: (972) 771-0100
Fax: (972) 771-1222