Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said in an interview Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “is not going to be coerced by lobbyists.” Breitbart News Daily.
Asked by host Mike Slater whether lobbyists could undermine DOGE's efforts, Blackburn said he believed that was not the case at all.
“No, we're not going to be swamped by lobbyists. And I think it's very interesting that so many companies are now raising their hands and saying, 'We want to work together on this issue.' Because they're really tired of overreach, compliance, and the excessive cost of compliance. ” she said before delving into the DOGE Act.
She described it as a “culmination of legislation” covering matters they have been discussing for more than a decade.
“It's across-the-board spending cuts, across the board cuts of 1, 2, 5 percent in all spending except for law enforcement and national security. As you can see, a 1 percent cut is a penny plan. I think people know that anyone can save pennies on the dollar, but you're lying if you say you can't do it,” Blackburn said.
“Another part of my bill is to freeze federal hiring and first day pay, which would put a cap on how much the federal government can pay and who the federal government can hire. The number of retirees in the federal government has decreased by approximately 80,000 per year. So this would give us an opportunity to put some kind of cap and start to reduce that number,” the senator explained, adding that her bill would move federal agencies other than Defense out of D.C. “We will also study how to arrange them cross-sectionally,” he said. ”
“We also have a return-to-work and merit-based promotion policy, so you don't get paid more just because you work longer. You get paid to serve the American people well. . This is something we need to do in conjunction with the federal government. If we have policies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the backlog of medical benefits is 100. So it's time for us to do these things. These are the things that the American people want to see happen, and we're going to move towards this. The time has come,” she added.
When asked about lobbyists' threats against these moves, Blackburn said, “There are thousands of whistleblowers across the country saying, 'This is money being wasted and you should look here. ’ or ‘You should look here.’ This is money being wasted and we need to do this.”
listen:
“As you know, only 6 percent of federal employees work in the office five days a week. You know that the Department of Defense has failed the last seven annual audits. We can't find $824 billion, excuse me, but I'll say it right now, but if Pete Hegseth gets in there, he'll say, “Until we find this money, you can't get up off that desk.'' You can't do that.'' We need to know where these funds are and how they are being used,” she added.
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