|
(Washington, D.C.) Citizens
Against Government Waste (CAGW) today booed Sen. Jim Jeffords
(I-Vt.) for continuing his fight to obtain $25 million in funding
for his National Historic Barn Preservation Act. Authorization
for the stalled proposal was slipped into the recently passed farm
bill. Now Jeffords wants the resources appropriated, or he
will likely attempt to earmark the funds through back channels at a
later date.
Jeffords,
infamous for the Interstate Dairy Compact which artificially hikes
milk prices, justifies his proposal on grounds that the state
historic barn program in Vermont provided $100,000 for 19 barn
owners in 2000, yet there were 52 applications. One state
historical preservation officer argues there are 10,000 barns
needing repair in Vermont alone. (The official did not explain
why the other 9,948 barn owners had yet to claim their free money.)
"In a nutshell,
this is what is wrong with the 'leadership' in the Senate," CAGW
President Tom Schatz said. "Here we are at war, in an economic
malaise, and facing deficits, and Sen. Jeffords wants millions of
dollars to spruce up old barns. Could this politician be
any more detached from the nation's priorities?"
Jeffords recently
voted against permanent repeal of the estate tax, citing rising
deficits as justification.
Additionally, in
May, Jeffords also procured a $365,000 federal grant from taxpayers
to preserve a barn at the University of Vermont. Apparently
40,000 tourists will visit this popular attraction--and that's just
between May and October each year. "Such a popular program
could easily pay for itself without taxpayers who will never hear
and much less see the barn being unfairly targeted," Schatz
added. "Those who enjoy such attractions should pay for it
through entrance fees, in this case, a measly $10 per
visitor."
"Further, is it
really necessary for all so-called historic barns to be saved with
taxpayers cash? As time progresses it is only natural that
some buildings will fall by the wayside," Schatz concluded.
"These barns were never designed to be national monuments, simply
structures that humble farmers would use whilst toiling the land and
raising livestock."
Citizens Against
Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in government. For more information about our
organization and issues see our website at http://www.cagw.org/
###
| 
