Ernst talks about cutting federal spending during Senate speech

WASHINGTON — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst on Wednesday took to the Senate floor to outline her plan to cut down federal spending, save taxpayer dollars and downsize the federal government. Ernst is chairing the Senate’s caucus on the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

She’s putting forward a plan with $2 trillion in potential savings.   “My proposal includes: selling off thousands of vacant and underutilized buildings; auditing the IRS to fire the thousands of employees who owe tens of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes; pulling the plug on Biden’s billion dollar boondoggle for gravy trains that never leave the station and electric vehicle stations that aren’t charging up anything but debt.”

Ernst says the federal government needs to change the composition of coins because the government is losing money making money. “In fact, there’s no better example of the cost of government inefficiency. Washington spends three cents to produce a penny and 11 cents for a nickel. That makes no cents! A penny here, a nickel there, eventually these examples all add up to millions, billions, and eventually trillions.”

Ernst says it’s time to stop turning our backs on the inefficiencies happening in Washington.  “The bottom line is that if you can’t find waste in Washington, there can only be one reason, you didn’t look. Well folks, I’ve spent the last decade looking while just about everyone else seems to have been looking the other way, until now. While this is a personal issue for me, it should not be a partisan issue. After all, every American benefits from a more efficient government and everyone loses when tax dollars are wasted.”

Ernst has introduced legislation to relocate federal agency headquarters and workers across the country and closer to the people they serve.