XPost: alt.government.employees, alt.bloated, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
XPost: sac.politics, talk.politics.misc

Since the first administration of Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. government
has expanded markedly. As one agency after another has been added, few
have been disbanded.

Meanwhile, the bureaucrats who run such agencies become skilled at
justifying their existence, influencing key members of Congress, and
seeking more money.

Draining the Treasury

The Left bemoans President Trump's plans to scale back the Department of Education and eventually eliminate it, and yet citizens on both the Left
and Right are largely unaware of 1,503 government agencies, offices, departments, or programs that accomplish little or nothing, other than to
drain funds from the Treasury.

Independent of the revelations exposed by DOGE thus far, many of these
entities are unfettered by scrutiny that would otherwise end them. Most of these entities have exceeded their expiration dates and should be gone by
now.

Of the 1,503 living-dead agencies, almost 50% were slated to expire more
than ten years ago. Nearly one-third of them continue to receive funding, collectively to the tune of more than $500 billion. As for the other two- thirds, it is difficult to determine how much money they suck from the
U.S. Treasury.

By some estimates they consume at least 1/12 of the U.S. total budget.
Heading into fiscal year 2026, 155 agencies are due for de-authorization.
Most will continue to operate, unimpeded, because no one is on top of the issue: the inaction of Congress enables agencies to live on whether or not
they produce any viable results.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC), for example, was authorized to
spend a bit more than $9 million annually, leading up to its expiration in 1981. Now, 44 years later, the FEC, times ten, continues to be funded and
last year spent $95 million. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), spending almost $340 million annually, was slated to fold in 2000, but 24
years later spent more than $28 billion.

How can this happen not simply for years, but for decades?

And, not merely for more money than originally authorized, but for 82
times more? In fairness, not all such programs are useless.

A small fraction has provided discernible benefit while the majority
should have vanished from the scene years ago. One cannot necessarily
blame the respective program directors. Their quest for survival is
somewhat understandable. The blame is squarely on Congress.

Who among our 100 senators and 435 congressional representatives is
watching the expiration dates? Why are these programs rubber-stamped year
after year?

Oversee, not Overlook

The responsibility of Congress doesn't cease when funds are first
allocated. Congress has the responsibility to oversee these programs. When Congress is deficient in doing so, members have no right to complain when,
say, DOGE or other cabinet level agencies take the reins. How deficient
can Congress be? Its dereliction of duty as our national debt rises to $37 trillion is a crime against all that we hold dear – against the U.S. Constitution, American taxpayers, our way of life, and the future of our children and grandchildren.

In his second four-year term Donald Trump already is accomplishing a great deal. As intended, DOGE has exposed much waste. Will our elected representatives step up and do their jobs? America needs and deserves to
know. Moreover, Americans deserve congressional representatives who
actually look out for the nation's finances.

Every Dollar Counts

Every dollar, let alone billions of dollars, allocated to programs that
should have long been axed is an assault on our way of life. The
cumulative price tag is a tax on the middle class. The waste threatens our solvency and impacts national our credit rating.

The time has come for Congress to clean house. Under the leadership of President Trump and the dedicated DOGE professionals who are seeking to
put the U.S. back on a firm financial footing, we all need to support this effort. To do less, or to do nothing, is to send us spiraling into even
greater levels of debt which, eventually, will imperil everyone.

https://townhall.com/columnists/jeffdavidson/2025/08/03/our-federal- government-remains-bloated-beyond-belief-n2661319

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