DENVER — Colorado Republican Congressman Greg Lopez has joined President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus.
The caucus, which aims to make the federal government more efficient, is being led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Lopez, who oversees Colorado's 4th Congressional District, penned a letter to Musk and Ramaswamy on Dec. 5, bringing to their attention "zombie programs" that could be eliminated.
“When you have 1,200 programs that have been expired or no longer authorized by Congress, where we're spending over $516 billion a year, I think that's a perfect place to start cutting,” Lopez told Denver7.
In his letter, Lopez listed "a few of the zombie programs that not only waste away millions every year but also further extreme liberal agendas." Two of his examples were the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Health and Human Services's family planning services grants and contracts as examples of zombie programs, which are Democrat-led.
Denver7 asked Lopez if there are Republican-led programs that should be re-examined.
“I think there we should re-examine all of them. I think here's the other thing we need to look at is we need to evaluate both Medicaid and Medicare, right, as it pertains to the cost there.”
Read Lopez's full letter below:
Political expert Robert Preuhs said if the caucus plans on cutting trillions in spending, the cuts will likely come from big programs.
“Health insurance is a big cost, but it's also probably one of those key things that if you're trying to cut federal spending, you cut it where it's big,” said Preuhs.
Those cuts could come at the expense of Coloradans.
“Getting rid of that will force folks to find private insurance or insurance through the insurance portal. That's going to be a fiscal obligation for individuals and families that just don't have it just yet,” said Preuhs.
Lopez said he also hopes to showcase what Colorado is doing on the national level during his time with the caucus.
“Maybe it's time we do a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution to make sure that we're not spending all this money,” he said.
Preuhs said while Lopez and other lawmakers may have big ideas brewing, making meaningful cuts could be easier said than done.
“The politics [are] going to be hard. Every member of Congress has a state or a district that benefits from some federal funds, and when you start pointing to those individual districts or states and the constituents that will be hurt, members of Congress that are very, very supportive of cutting budgets may not be quite as supportive," Preuhs said.
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