Bush, Congress Grapple With Federal Deficit

It amazes me how three eminent writers can contribute to the Opinion section (May 13) on federal taxes without once referring to government waste. They cover, quite thoroughly, the adversary positions being taken by both the Democratic and Republican representatives in Washington without alluding to the General Accounting Office (GAO) Financial Integrity Act report and the Grace Commission report of a few years ago on the needless spending. I am referring to:

- “Between a Political Rock and an Economic Hard Place,” by William Schneider.

- Column Left, “Democrats Hold the Cards, but . . .” by Robert Kuttner.

- Column Right, “White House Doublespeak on Taxes,” by George F. Will.

In his recent interview on CBS Evening News, the comptroller general estimated that the waste uncovered by the GAO report totaled $180 billion! That is enough government waste to eliminate the federal deficit. This is in complete agreement with the Grace Commission report.

It is shocking that as Congress continues to raid the surplus from the Social Security Trust Fund and while many congressmen and other elected officials are calling for increases in taxes, the GAO report, which is a detailed road map for eliminating the deficit, remains untouched. It is a scandal that Congress has failed to enact the recommendations contained in this report. It should be kept in mind that the GAO is the investigating agency of the Congress.

The Grace Commission report specifically warned Congress of the savings and loan crisis long before it occurred. If Congress had enacted this full report, the S&L; crisis would not only have been prevented, but would have eliminated the government waste responsible for the federal deficit. The GAO report now gives Congress a second chance to at least eliminate the waste responsible for the deficit.

HERBERT A. NIEDHAMMER

Laguna Niguel