On Friday, Rep. Matt Salmon introduced his Ninth Shrink our Spending Initiative bill which would cut federal funding for government vehicle purchases.
In 2013, the federal government’s vehicle fleet totaled 247,557 vehicles (excluding military and postal service vehicles) which cost taxpayers $1.7 billion to maintain. The President’s debt commission agrees that the fleet is already too large. This bill would reduce non-essential, federal vehicle purchases by 20% from 2010 levels. Doing so will provide an estimated $362,100,000 in savings.
“It must be nice to buy new vehicles every year, especially when you already own almost a quarter-million of them. Already showcasing a garage that puts entertainment legend Jay Leno to shame, the federal government continues to waste your tax dollars by purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars in brand new vehicles every year. There’s no way the government needs this many cars and trucks, and they certainly don’t need that many new vehicles annually,” stated Salmon.
“My bill wouldn’t end all new vehicles purchased though, as some old vehicles are undoubtedly due to be retired. Instead, it would force the government to cut new vehicle purchases by 20% from 2010 levels. This simple change would save you a lot of money and reduce overall maintenance costs in the future,” concluded Salmon.