Representative Jeff Flake on Balancing the Budget and Reducing Spending

Congressman Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, joined Fox News' "Fox and Friends" on Monday, December 20, 2010, to discuss his plans to reduce government spending and balance the budget. Flake expressed his desire to create a panel to investigate waste and fraud in government spending, citing examples of inefficient programs such as ethanol subsidies and Head Start. He emphasized the need for fiscal conservatives to be part of the Appropriations Committee to effectively cut spending.

Key Takeaways:

• Congressman Jeff Flake was appointed to the Appropriations Committee and plans to create a subcommittee to investigate waste and fraud in government spending.
• Flake aims to cut $100 billion in discretionary spending in the next year and believes that a panel to investigate waste would be helpful in achieving this goal.
• The Congressman identified inefficient programs such as ethanol subsidies and Head Start as areas where spending could be reduced.
• Flake expressed concern that there may not be enough fiscal conservatives on the Appropriations Committee to effectively reduce spending.
• He emphasized the need for public hearings and investigations to inform the public about why certain programs are being cut.

Statistics:

• $100 billion: the amount of discretionary spending that Flake aims to cut in the next year.
• $6 billion: the annual cost of ethanol subsidies.
• "Years and years": the duration for which the Appropriations Committee has been known as the "earmark favor factory."

Sources:

• Fox News Channel, "Fox and Friends" interview with Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Monday, December 20, 2010.
• Federal News Service, Inc., transcript of the interview.
• cnyberg@fednews.com (for information on subscribing to the FNS Internet Service).