Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after successfully passing an amendment, which will save $3.1 million by preventing a budget increase for the United States Botanic Garden, by a bipartisan vote of 219-198 and attaching it to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R.4487), which subsequently passed the full House by a vote of 402-14. H.R.4487 also contains Rep. Gosar's legislative language that prohibits wasteful spending on life-size photographs printed on scrims that conceal scaffolding on public buildings.
For Immediate Release Date: May 1, 2014
Contact: Russell Solomon
Russell.Solomon@mail.house.gov
House Passes Gosar Efforts to Cut Waste
Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after successfully passing an amendment, which will save $3.1 million by preventing a budget increase for the United States Botanic Garden, by a bipartisan vote of 219-198 and attaching it to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R.4487), which subsequently passed the full House by a vote of 402-14. H.R.4487 also contains Rep. Gosar's legislative language that prohibits wasteful spending on life-size photographs printed on scrims that conceal scaffolding on public buildings:
"One of my top priorities is cutting waste, fraud and abuse within the federal bureaucracy. My efforts today will cut needless spending and prevent hard-earned taxpayer money from being wasted on a costly vegetative roof and on completely unnecessary life-size printings of photographs. At a time of soaring deficits and with a federal debt in excess of $17 trillion, such expenditures are especially wasteful. We have a responsibility to future generations to put this country on a fiscally sustainable path, which is why I'll continue to cut wasteful spending wherever I can find it in the bloated federal government."
BACKGROUND:
Rep. Gosar's amendment to H.R.4487 will cut a proposed funding increase for the United States Botanic Garden and restore funding to the fiscal year 2014 level. The Architect of the Capitol proposed a $5.1 million dollar increase in funding for the Botanic Garden for the fiscal year 2015 budget. Rather than making minor repairs to a few small leaks in the roof of the Botanic Garden, the Architect of the Capitol is proposing to tear down the entire roof and replace it with what he called “a new vegetative roofing system.” The National Taxpayers Union recommended support for Rep. Gosar's amendment and said they would consider a "yes" vote as the "pro-taxpayer position" in their annual ratings of Congress. Click HERE to read Rep. Gosar's remarks on the House floor about the importance of this amendment and click HERE to read the amendment's text.
Sec. 1001 of H.R.4487 contains Rep. Gosar's language that prevents the printing of life-size photographs of building facades on scrims that conceal scaffolding erected to repair public buildings in the United States Capitol Complex. The Architect of the Capitol justified this lavish practice by asserting that this practice is "used extensively in Europe." To read more about this language, click HERE.
(The Supreme Court covered by a scrim on which a life-size photograph was printed; photo courtesy of posttrib.suntimes.com)
