dleeper47

Have you ever wondered how our federal government could have amassed a debt of over 31 Trillion dollars? Might it have something to do with the long list below? As of May, 2023, there are 430 federal agencies and departments, each with its own funding, mission, staff. buildings, phones, office furniture, computers, internet access, and an entrenched hierarchy of bureaucrats. All of them have an implicit goal of preserving and growing their organization. And with the automatic budget increases they get every year, they do indeed grow — exponentially! Is it any wonder we’re so deeply in debt? Has our federal government ever heard of zero-based budgeting? Please scroll down the massive list below, click on a few of the links (Please see https://bityl.co/J32C for a copy of this article with links embedded), read their mission, and ask yourself if We the People really need to pay for all of these agencies and departments. To slow the growth in our debt, couldn’t we “rough it” and get by with 230 organizations instead of 430? In the comment section below this article, please suggest a couple of your favorite candidate agencies or departments to simply do away with. If enough people reply, I’ll report the results later. Finally, if we simply must keep all these organizations running, might we at least apply Senator Rand Paul’s “Six-Penny Plan” to balance the budget in ~5 years? What do you think? Source (May, 2023): Federal Registry 1 ACTION 2 Administrative Conference of the United States 3 Administrative Office of United States Courts 4 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 5 Agency for International Development 6 – International Development Cooperation Agency 7 Agriculture Department 8 – Advocacy and Outreach Office 9 – Agricultural Marketing Service 10 – Agricultural Research Service 11 – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 12 – Commodity Credit Corporation 13 – Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 14 – Economic Analysis Staff 15 – Economic Research Service 16 – Farm Service Agency 17 – Federal Crop Insurance Corporation 18 – Food and Consumer Service 19 – Food and Nutrition Service 20 – Food Safety and Inspection Service 21 – Foreign Agricultural Service 22 – Forest Service 23 – National Agricultural Library 24 – National Agricultural Statistics Service 25 – National Institute of Food and Agriculture 26 – Natural Resources Conservation Service 27 – Operations Office 28 – Partnerships and Public Engagement Office 29 – Procurement and Property Management, Office of 30 – Risk Management Agency 31 – Rural Business-Cooperative Service 32 – Rural Housing and Community Development Service 33 – Rural Housing Service 34 – Rural Telephone Bank 35 – Rural Utilities Service 36 – Transportation Office 37 – U.S. Codex Office 38 Air Quality National Commission 39 Air Transportation Stabilization Board 40 American Battle Monuments Commission 41 Amtrak Reform Council 42 Antitrust Modernization Commission 43 Appalachian Regional Commission 44 Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission 45 Architect of the Capitol 46 Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 47 Arctic Research Commission 48 Armed Forces Retirement Home 49 Arms Control and Disarmament Agency 50 Assassination Records Review Board 51 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation 52 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform 53 Board of Directors of the Hope for Homeowners Program 54 Broadcasting Board of Governors 55 Census Monitoring Board 56 Central Intelligence Agency 57 Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board 58 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission 59 Civil Rights Commission 60 Commerce Department 61 – Census Bureau 62 – Economic Analysis Bureau 63 – Economic Development Administration 64 – Economics and Statistics Administration 65 – Export Administration Bureau 66 – Foreign-Trade Zones Board 67 – Industry and Security Bureau 68 – International Trade Administration 69 – Minority Business Development Agency 70 – National Institute of Standards and Technology 71 – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 72 – National Technical Information Service 73 – National Telecommunications and Information Administration 74 – Patent and Trademark Office 75 – Technology Administration 76 – Travel and Tourism Administration 77 – Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs 78 Commission of Fine Arts 79 Commission on Immigration Reform 80 Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy 81 Commission on Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States 82 Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals 83 Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement 84 Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry 85 Commission on the Social Security Notch Issue 86 Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled 87 Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements 88 Commodity Futures Trading Commission 89 Competitiveness Policy Council 90 Congressional Budget Office 91 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 92 Consumer Product Safety Commission 93 Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 94 Corporation for National and Community Service 95 Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency 96 Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia 97 Crime and Security in U.S. Seaports, Interagency Commission 98 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission 99 Defense Department 100 – Air Force Department 101 – Army Department 102 – Defense Acquisition Regulations System 103 – Defense Contract Audit Agency 104 – Defense Information Systems Agency 105 – Defense Intelligence Agency 106 – Defense Investigative Service 107 – Defense Logistics Agency 108 – Defense Mapping Agency 109 – Defense Special Weapons Agency 110 – Engineers Corps 111 – National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 112 – National Security Agency/Central Security Service 113 – Navy Department 114 – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 115 Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board 116 Delaware River Basin Commission 117 Denali Commission 118 Education Department 119 – National Assessment Governing Board 120 Election Assistance Commission 121 Electronic Commerce Advisory Commission 122 Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Board 123 Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Board 124 Energy Department 125 – Alaska Power Administration 126 – Bonneville Power Administration 127 – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office 128 – Energy Information Administration 129 – Energy Research Office 130 – Environment Office, Energy Department 131 – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 132 – National Nuclear Security Administration 133 – Southeastern Power Administration 134 – Southwestern Power Administration 135 – Western Area Power Administration 136 Environmental Protection Agency 137 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 138 Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency 139 Executive Office of the President 140 – Administration Office, Executive Office of the President 141 – Council on Environmental Quality 142 – Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Office 143 – National Space Council 144 Export-Import Bank 145 Farm Credit Administration 146 Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation 147 Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board 148 Federal Acquisition Regulation System 149 Federal Communications Commission 150 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 151 Federal Election Commission 152 Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 153 Federal Housing Finance Agency 154 Federal Housing Finance Board 155 Federal Labor Relations Authority 156 – Federal Service Impasses Panel 157 Federal Maritime Commission 158 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 159 Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission 160 Federal Pay, Advisory Committee 161 Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council 162 Federal Register, Administrative Committee 163 Federal Reserve System 164 Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board 165 Federal Trade Commission 166 Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission 167 Financial Stability Oversight Council 168 General Services Administration 169 Government Accountability Office 170 Government Ethics Office 171 Government Publishing Office 172 Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council 173 Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation 174 Health and Human Services Department 175 – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 176 – Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 177 – Aging Administration 178 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 179 – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 180 – Child Support Enforcement Office 181 – Children and Families Administration 182 – Community Living Administration 183 – Family Assistance Office 184 – Food and Drug Administration 185 – Health Care Finance Administration 186 – Health Resources and Services Administration 187 – Indian Health Service 188 – National Institutes of Health 189 – National Library of Medicine 190 – Program Support Center 191 – Public Health Service 192 – Refugee Resettlement Office 193 – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 194 Homeland Security Department 195 – Coast Guard 196 – Federal Emergency Management Agency 197 – Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 198 – National Communications System 199 – Secret Service 200 – Transportation Security Administration 201 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 202 – U.S. Customs and Border Protection 203 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 204 Housing and Urban Development Department 205 – Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Office 206 – Government National Mortgage Association 207 Indian Arts and Crafts Board 208 Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development 209 Inter-American Foundation 210 Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee 211 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Commission 212 Interior Department 213 – Fish and Wildlife Service 214 – Geological Survey 215 – Hearings and Appeals Office, Interior Department 216 – Indian Affairs Bureau 217 – Indian Trust Transition Office 218 – Land Management Bureau 219 – Minerals Management Service 220 – Mines Bureau 221 – National Biological Service 222 – National Civilian Community Corps 223 – National Indian Gaming Commission 224 – National Park Service 225 – Natural Resources Revenue Office 226 – Ocean Energy Management Bureau 227 – Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Bureau 228 – Reclamation Bureau 229 – Safety and Environmental Enforcement Bureau 230 – Special Trustee for American Indians Office 231 – Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office 232 International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico 233 International Broadcasting Board 234 International Development Finance Corporation 235 International Trade Commission 236 Interstate Commerce Commission 237 James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation 238 Joint Board for Enrollment of Actuaries 239 Judicial Conference of the United States 240 Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control 241 Justice Department 242 – Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau 243 – Antitrust Division 244 – Drug Enforcement Administration 245 – Executive Office for Immigration Review 246 – Federal Bureau of Investigation 247 – Federal Prison Industries 248 – Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 249 – Immigration and Naturalization Service 250 – Justice Programs Office 251 – Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Office 252 – National Institute of Corrections 253 – National Institute of Justice 254 – Parole Commission 255 – Prisons Bureau 256 – United States Marshals Service 257 Labor Department 258 – Benefits Review Board 259 – Disability Employment Policy Office 260 – Employee Benefits Security Administration 261 – Employees Compensation Appeals Board 262 – Employment and Training Administration 263 – Employment Standards Administration 264 – Federal Contract Compliance Programs Office 265 – Labor Statistics Bureau 266 – Labor-Management Standards Office 267 – Mine Safety and Health Administration 268 – Occupational Safety and Health Administration 269 – Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration 270 – Veterans Employment and Training Service 271 – Wage and Hour Division 272 – Workers Compensation Programs Office 273 Legal Services Corporation 274 Library of Congress 275 – Copyright Office, Library of Congress 276 – Copyright Royalty Board 277 – Copyright Royalty Judges 278 Local Television Loan Guarantee Board 279 Management and Budget Office 280 – Federal Procurement Policy Office 281 Marine Mammal Commission 282 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission 283 Merit Systems Protection Board 284 Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission 285 Millennium Challenge Corporation 286 Mississippi River Commission 287 Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation 288 National Aeronautics and Space Administration 289 National Archives and Records Administration 290 – Federal Register Office 291 – Information Security Oversight Office 292 – Office of Government Information Services 293 National Bankruptcy Review Commission 294 National Bipartisan Commission on Future of Medicare 295 National Capital Planning Commission 296 National Commission on Intermodal Transportation 297 National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 298 National Commission on Manufactured Housing 299 National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service 300 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 301 National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education 302 National Council on Disability 303 National Counterintelligence Center 304 National Credit Union Administration 305 National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council 306 National Economic Council 307 National Education Goals Panel 308 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities 309 – Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities 310 – Institute of Museum and Library Services 311 – National Endowment for the Arts 312 – National Endowment for the Humanities 313 National Gambling Impact Study Commission 314 National Institute for Literacy 315 National Intelligence, Office of the National Director 316 National Labor Relations Board 317 National Mediation Board 318 National Nanotechnology Coordination Office 319 National Partnership for Reinventing Government 320 National Prison Rape Elimination Commission 321 National Railroad Passenger Corporation 322 National Science Foundation 323 National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence 324 National Security Council 325 National Skill Standards Board 326 National Transportation Safety Board 327 National Women’s Business Council 328 Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation Office 329 Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation 330 Northeast Dairy Compact Commission 331 Northeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission 332 Nuclear Regulatory Commission 333 Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board 334 Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission 335 Ocean Policy Commission 336 Office of National Drug Control Policy 337 Office of Policy Development 338 Oklahoma City National Memorial Trust 339 Ounce of Prevention Council 340 Overseas Private Investment Corporation 341 Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council 342 Panama Canal Commission 343 Peace Corps 344 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 345 Personnel Management Office 346 Physician Payment Review Commission 347 Postal Rate Commission 348 Postal Regulatory Commission 349 Postal Service 350 President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency 351 President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board 352 Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses 353 Presidential Commission on Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces 354 Presidio Trust 355 Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board 356 Prospective Payment Assessment Commission 357 Public Buildings Reform Board 358 Railroad Retirement Board 359 Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration 360 Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board 361 Regulatory Information Service Center 362 Resolution Trust Corporation 363 Science and Technology Policy Office 364 Securities and Exchange Commission 365 Selective Service System 366 Small Business Administration 367 Smithsonian Institution 368 Social Security Administration 369 Special Counsel Office 370 Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction 371 Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction 372 State Department 373 State Justice Institute 374 Surface Transportation Board 375 Susquehanna River Basin Commission 376 Tennessee Valley Authority 377 The White House Office 378 Thrift Depositor Protection Oversight Board 379 Trade and Development Agency 380 Trade Representative, Office of United States 381 Transportation Department 382 – Commercial Space Transportation Office 383 – Federal Aviation Administration 384 – Federal Highway Administration 385 – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 386 – Federal Railroad Administration 387 – Federal Transit Administration 388 – Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation 389 – Maritime Administration 390 – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 391 – Office of Motor Carrier Safety 392 – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 393 – Research and Innovative Technology Administration 394 – Research and Special Programs Administration 395 – Transportation Statistics Bureau 396 Treasury Department 397 – Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 398 – Bureau of the Fiscal Service 399 – Community Development Financial Institutions Fund 400 – Comptroller of the Currency 401 – Customs Service 402 – Engraving and Printing Bureau 403 – Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 404 – Financial Research Office 405 – Fiscal Service 406 – Foreign Assets Control Office 407 – Internal Revenue Service 408 – International Investment Office 409 – Investment Security Office 410 – Monetary Offices 411 – Public Debt Bureau 412 – Thrift Supervision Office 413 – United States Mint 414 Twenty-First Century Workforce Commission 415 U.S. House of Representatives 416 U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission 417 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 418 Unified Carrier Registration Plan 419 United States African Development Foundation 420 United States Agency for Global Media 421 United States Enrichment Corporation 422 United States Information Agency 423 United States Institute of Peace 424 United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee 425 United States Sentencing Commission 426 Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission 427 Valles Caldera Trust 428 Veterans Affairs Department 429 Women’s Business Enterprise Interagency Committee 430 Women’s Progress Commemoration Commission See also this link for more on the national debt. Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. Milton Friedman, 1984

Short video on debt

AZ State Representative Mark Finchem has been a leader in pursuing election integrity. In under 2 minutes, he defends the AZ Audit from its critics, especially the nakedly partisan Katie Hobbs, the AZ Sec'y of State. What is Hobbs afraid of? Hobbs was in charge of the election process, and if the election was indeed transparent and secure, she should be openly supporting the Audit, observing and assisting where possible, and preparing her "I told you so" press releases when the Audit verifies the election's integrity, vindicating her public positions on the election. Instead she's done just the opposite. I served two shifts as a volunteer at the Audit. They didn't ask and didn't care what party I belong to. (I happen to be a registered as independent). Far Left to Far Right -- it didn't matter. I only needed to prove my identity, be a US citizen, and have voted in the last election. I do have a 40-year career in engineering behind me, including training and experience in statistical quality control. The Audit processes looked to me to be high quality, and while I cannot discuss any results until the report is issued, there are >1000 volunteers like me who can serve as witnesses if and when partisan detractors scurrilously attack the Audit process (as they already are). David Leeper, PhD Scottsdale, AZ

Alan Korwin of gunlaws.com answers the classic question: Why Does Anyone Need an AR-15? From Tea Party of Scottsdale, Feb, 2015.