$380 Billion in ‘Green Scissors’ Cuts That Slash Bad Energy and Environmental Subsidies. Oh YEAH!!

Cut $333 BILLION in environmentally harmful subsidies could go a long way toward solving our nation’s budget challenges!!!  Guess what?!  There is a group that prides themselves in being a right-left coalition said today in a groundbreaking report let’s cut $333 Billion.

“Green Scissors 2011” is the report that shows the US government how to save up to $380 billion over five years.  They are going to curb wasteful spending that harm of all things..the environment!

That amounts to 25% of the savings alone that this new handy dandy congressional Super Committee has to find.  For more on the report, go to http://www.greenscissors.com.

Green Scissors 2011 is being released by four organizations:

1. progressive environmental group Friends of the Earth
2. deficit hawk Taxpayers for Common Sense
3. consumer watchdog Public Citizen
4. and free-market think tank The Heartland Institute

“We can go a long way toward solving our nation’s budget problems by cutting spending that harms the environment, and this report provides the Super Committee with a road map,” said Friends of the Earth climate and energy tax analyst Ben Schreiber. “At a time of great polarization, Super Committee members can and should find common ground by ending wasteful polluter giveaways.”

As the report notes:  

“To get our nation’s spending in check we will need to end wasteful programs and policies. They not only cost us up front, but also create additional financial liabilities down the road and threaten our nation’s fragile land, air and water. In addition, we need to ensure that we receive a fair return on government assets. From the more than a century old 1872 Mining Law that gives away precious metals — like gold and copper — on federal lands for free, to $53 billion in lost oil and gas revenues from royalty free leases in federal waters granted in the late 1990s, to the $6 billion per year ethanol tax credit, there are dozens of reforms that can return hundreds of billions to taxpayers while helping to address our nation’s top environmental priorities.”

“The 2011 Green Scissors Report is a reminder that it’s time for Congress to have a serious, rational discussion about cutting the budget,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). “With painful budget cuts already under discussion that will require American families to make sacrifices, it is only fair, for example, that we also stop the handouts to our richest oil companies.”

“Conservatives believe in the accountability of the marketplace,” said former Rep. Robert Inglis (R-S.C.). “Subsidies cost us money, and they shield some participants from innovation. It’s that innovation that can grow our economy and clean up the air, water and land.”

“The Green Scissors report is full of recommendations that will help us be good stewards of the environment while also being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.). “While we won’t all agree on every proposed cut, the report’s recommendations are a good place to start as we look for ways to put our nation on a more sustainable fiscal path.”

The Green Scissors Campaign strives to make environmental and fiscal responsibility a priority in Washington. For more than 16 years, Green Scissors has exposed subsidies and programs that both harm the environment and waste taxpayer dollars.