You Cut - April 7th, 2011

Last week's winning YouCut item, championed by Rep. Allen West, reduces the printing budget for the Department of Defense by ten percent. As promised, this week House Republicans brought this proposal to the House floor for a vote, where it passed overwhelmingly.

Look at this weeks You Cut proposals and go to the following site to vote:
http://www.majorityleader.gov/YouCut/




Repeal the $17 Billion "Prevention and Public Health Fund" Created in the 2010 Health Care Law
Saves $17 Billion
Under the health care law signed by President Obama, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is granted the authority to spend funds in a new “Prevention and Public Health Fund ” on any "public health" program or activity such as media campaigns to encourage you to exercise more, publishing cookbooks that tell you what to eat, and grant programs that could be used to promote new taxes on soft drinks and other beverages without any further Congressional approval. This is money that is not specifically dedicated to research to actually prevent, treat, or cure diseases and disorders. Under the law, the fund is automatically replenished with taxpayer funds every year in perpetuity. Eliminating this fund would save approximately $17 billion over the next ten years alone.

Repeal the Mandatory Funding for School-Based Health Center Construction
Saves $200 million
The new health care law signed by President Obama provides $50 million a year through 2014 for construction, land acquisition and other capital costs for school-based health centers. The law did not, however, provide funding to support a center’s operating costs---allowing for the possibility that a center could be built that will never actually provide care to anyone! This funding is also duplicative of funding provided for health care centers in the stimulus law.

Repeal the Mandatory Funding for Graduate Medical Education
Saves $230 million
A provision in the health care law signed by President Obama provides an automatic $230 million for teaching health centers residency programs. While perhaps a laudable goal, mandatory taxpayer funding for these hospitals will actually disadvantage childrens’ hospitals graduate medical education programs that are subject to funding through the annual Congressional appropriations process each year. Eliminating this mandatory funding will ensure that taxpayer fund are not wasted, but go to the highest priority programs.