Ramaswamy wants to defund unauthorized government programs - like veteran healthcare
Ramaswamy wants to defund unauthorized government programs - like veteran healthcare
In 2024, the Veterans’ Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996 accounted for nearly $120 million in government funds despite its appropriations being authorized through 1998
Summary
Vivek Ramaswamy, recently appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has proposed defunding federal programs that lack current congressional authorization.
This could affect programs like veterans’ healthcare, NASA, and early education initiatives, which still receive funding despite expired authorizations.
Ramaswamy argues that cutting these programs could save billions, and he’s committed to targeting expenditures that “don’t advance the interests of American citizens.”
DOGE, co-led by Elon Musk, aims to curb government spending, with Musk estimating potential cuts of up to $2 trillion.
Save billions on essentials while spending trillions in bullshit.
Part of me, as an outsider looking in with abject horror, wants to see this happen just because I still hold out hope that it might finally wake up a not-insignificant part of rural and rust-belt America that live off these benefits (or ‘handouts’ according to the GOP) out of their political stupor.
But on the other hand, I know that once it’s gone, it’s very unlikely to be brought back in the immediate future by the current crop of Dems, who seemingly would rather keep dangling it as a carrot (along with restoring ablation access) in order to entice voter turnout.
Remember when if you didn't "support our troops," Republicans would ask you why you hated America?
Not for millenia would I have realized that Department of Government Efficiency stood for DoGE. What a funny little boy Elon is.
they just want Russia to be the top superpower
Okay I agree with the other comments here but I'm a bit confused on this.
How are we still spending money on these things if congress doesn't approve it? The legislature sets the budget, did they just forget to make it official and extend these? Also why even have a phase out period in the first place?
I think it's because there is a difference between the Budget and Appropriations in Congress. The budget is a plan, where programs are authorized and an overall budget is set. The appropriations process is what assigns particular dollars to particular discretionary programs. (Certain programs deemed "mandatory" by Congress, like Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the debt, get allocated money automatically and are not involved in appropriations)
If I had to guess, I would say that once a program is authorized once under a budget, it can continue as long as it (or the Federal department it is part of) is not specifically de-authorized, and as long as it continues to receive appropriations specifically for that program.
So, it is likely that this is all about Ramaswamy's total ignorance of how Congress works. Which tracks pretty well with what this DOGE is all about.
We can't be taking care of Veterans that is way to decent of a thing to do for Republicans.
I am terrified at them defunding the VA. I've had a much easier time getting good medical care from VA doctors than I ever did going private and I'd be bankrupt without the VA. It's because of the VA that I have any savings at all
Agreed. They must have gotten better in the last decade too, because I don't see the horrible things that people have said about the VA. Yes there are long wait times for appointments, but that's happening in private care now as well.
As a US citizen, paying for veterans healthcare and early education programs advance my interests a whole fucking lot more than paying this jackass.
Stupid piece of shit, you don't speak for us.
As someone with just as much federal authority as the non-existent DOGE, I also propose defunding expenditures that “don’t advance the interests of American citizens.”
And I would like to start with fucking Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon fucking Musk.
as equal authority, I propose we just lock them up.
I'm sure we can find something to actually justify it. Like, you know, betraying classified secrets to the russians, as well as providing intelligence and military aid;
Wait long enough, and neither will pass the nationalist purity test. The leopards will turn inwards for face-eating sooner than some fasc-allies think, I suspect
Give 'em an Archie Slap for even suggesting that shit.
America: Our soldiers are heroes!
Also America: But they don't deserve a penny and should pay exorbitant prices for healthcare...
I know this isn't all Americans, but it's more than I thought.
I expected NASA to get screwed by DOGE. What I didn't expect was that it's at the behest of Ramaswamy instead of Elmo. 2024 is defying expectations yet again.
NASA gives SpaceX fat government paychecks. He doesn't want anything to happen to them.
Not necessarily. He wouldn't want anything to happen to the funding that ends up going to himself. He would likely be thrilled if their funding for designing and building their own rockets dried up, though.
It's right in line with the purpose of DOGE and an easy sell to anybody that doesn't immediately see the conflict of interest: "Why are we spending $100 million annually to play catch-up with the private sector? Reallocate $80 million to get rockets that work today and save the taxpayers $20 million while doing it."
I dunno I disagree. I think he'd like nothing more than if NASA just completely disappeared. I've thought that since the second they started talking about him guiding fiduciary spending. Once NASA is out of the picture, it's all SpaceX all the time. Trump is already most of the way there anyway. "His rocket company is the only reason we can now send American astronauts into space."
This is part of the plan I suspect.
Touching NASA very well might be the thing that finally pushes me to actual violence.
Scientific endeavors, but specifically research and exploration of space are pretty much the only things in life I really have a passion for.
The last conservative government silenced the government scientists from discussing climate change and destroyed decades of research as they didn't believe in it and it didn't fit their Alberta oil jobs first objectives.
We are looking at another Conservative government coming our way again in the next year and it's going to be a super shit storm when our Cons and the US Cons are firing on all cylinders destroy everything they don't like or believe in. I fear it's going to take decades again to come back on the science again.
Back in the day they funded NASA because they were worried about being eclipsed by the USSR. Now they may worry about belong eclipsed by China. But yes they might move a shit ton to spacex.
They won't cut the funding that goes to the richest Americans and themselves of course.
The crazy thing is the amount of money donated to a Trump by people who work for the Dept of Defense. Or maybe that includes contractors, aka, the rich.
I've can only hope that they fuck things up so bad that... Oh who am I kidding. There are to many stupid Americans for anything they do to make a difference in the Trumpublican party.
I'm a 100% disabled veteran. Two years ago I made the very stupid decision to change my gender identity with the VA, and my therapist just informed me on Friday that I can't change it back because it's part of a diagnosis. I'm really worried that either of those things, or the fact that I'm getting a degree through chapter 31 will end in a reduction or revocation of my benefits. In addition, I'm going through the process of getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. I'm really expensive for the VA right now.
Fun fact: ALS is more common in the veteran population
The clown is inviting more clowns and they are building up the circus, this could be funny if it wasn't so serious.
These guys really seem to want a pissed off veteran to take them out.
Please, keep pissing off the military, sounds like a FAFO-prone strategy.
Is the tide changing? I feel like the GOP has been dicking the veterans over my whole life and they're still like their biggest and strongest supporters. Leopards and faces and all that.
Specifically about veterans' healthcare: Veterans surveyed supported Trump 61% to 37% Harris with 2% undecided. And it's not like the plan to screw up VA benefits was hidden, it was there in Project 2025.
So DOGE is getting cut then?
Guys, c'mon. There's only so much face a guy has to feed the leopards.
Entirely typical.
Republicans have already dicked veterans over so hard that private charities have to try to make up for all of the broken promises.
And it's still not enough for them.
Trump: "What is the worst idea we can implement?"
Ramaswamy:"Let's make all the people that know how to use the most complex and deadly weapons mad at us as quickly as possible!"
Karma
This is a c/leopardsatemyface moment.
This next two years of "FO" realizations for the FA crowd will bring me no pleasure. Unfortunately we're past the point of return now in participative democracy due to a menially literate population that has had the capacity for rational and forethought drowned out for 3+ generations.
Time, yet again history, to teach people lessons the same, hard way. 😔
If Fuckface 45 and his cronies actually take office on Jan 20, then this country as we know it is gone. It's over. It's cooked.
They need to be jailed for their crimes before getting into office.
Speaking of inefficiency... https://youtube.com/shorts/l5woagC47NM