Photo Courtesy of Generation Opportunity
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar,
D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the
following statement after the House passed his amendment to prohibit millions of
dollars from being spent on high-efficiency toilet exchanges. The amendment
passed by unanimous consent and was attached to the fiscal year 2015 Energy and
Water Appropriations Act:
“With an out of
control debt and no end in sight, it is beyond crazy to have the federal
government continuing to subsidize unnecessary and wasteful projects. My
commonsense amendment saves taxpayer money and gets the federal government out
of the business of subsidizing expensive toilet exchanges that yield highly
questionable returns.
“If toilet
exchange programs were as efficient as the EPA and Bureau of Reclamation claim,
then such products would save so much money and water over time that they would
sell themselves in the private market and wouldn’t need taxpayer subsidies. It’s
time for the federal government to stop flushing taxpayer dollars down the
toilet.”
Background:
Background:
Rep. Gosar’s
amendment was supported by several spending watchdog groups including the
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Eagle Forum, the Taxpayers
Protection Alliance, and Generation Opportunity.
According to the
House Committee on Natural Resources, the Bureau of Reclamation’s own data shows
that the agency has awarded a number of questionable grants for these projects
since 2005 totaling almost $2 million.
The federal
expenditures spent on “toilet exchange programs” include a $200,000 grant to San
Francisco in 2007 and more than $300,000 for Texas and California during
2011. For 2014, the
agency has already issued funds to subsidize a nearly-million-dollar project for
indoor water-efficient fixtures and toilet
upgrades in California.
###
