Posted on 04/05/2025 3:11:55 AM PDT by dennisw
Hardworking Americans face rising prices and a weaponized federal government, yet more than 1,500 federal programs are still receiving billions in taxpayer dollars despite their legal authorizations expiring years or even decades ago.
A federal program is separately authorized and funded by Congress. If a program is not authorized, or authorized at a specific level, it is not supposed to receive funding. But because of Congressional inaction, apathy, and inattention, these programs regularly receive such funding even though they lack legal authorization.
491 specifically-identified unauthorized programs and federal spending accounts for roughly 8% of the annual federal budget of $6.45 trillion, or $516 billion dollars. The DOGE effort to cut government fraud, waste, and abuse has so far saved taxpayers $140 billion by comparison.
The Congressional Budget Office couldn’t find or estimate the dollar amounts spent by the other 1,000 zombie programs they identified.
According to a recent investigation by RealClearInvestigations, the United States government is quietly funding what experts are calling “zombie programs” — agencies and initiatives that legally expired but are kept alive through backdoor budget tricks and annual appropriations.
In 2016, candidate Trump even mentioned this concept of refusing to pay for unauthorized programs as a way to get more funding to the military. The media ‘fact checked’ Trump’s claim as ‘false’ even though it was true, because, they said, Congress doesn’t have to follow the law.
One of the most egregious examples? The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a taxpayer-funded outfit originally established to provide free legal assistance to low-income Americans. Congress let its authorization expire in 1980, yet the agency is still alive and well in 2025 — operating with 135 employees and a $560 million budget.
Republicans in 2011 tried to make modest cuts to the LSC, and the left-wing mainstream media said it would cause major social problems. Leftist media said it was going to “gut a crucial anti-poverty lifeline.” Left-wing non-profits rallied to protect this subsidy and corporate welfare to the nation’s attorneys.
The LSC has long been accused of funding politically motivated litigation, supporting left-leaning advocacy groups, and diverting taxpayer money into causes far beyond its original mandate. In past decades, LSC grantees have been caught assisting in lawsuits to block welfare reform, challenging voter ID laws, and filing environmental and immigration-related lawsuits aimed at advancing progressive policy goals rather than defending the poor in court. Some grantees have used federal funds to lobby state legislatures, coordinate with activist networks, and even sue landlords and small businesses en masse under dubious legal theories.
45 years after it was supposed to be shut down, the LSC is still spending hundreds of millions with zero legislative oversight.
This problem has been plaguing Congress for years, and many white papers and organizations have attempted to bring this problem to the legislature’s attention for many years.
Here are a few of the worst offenders:
Unauthorized Federal Programs and Agencies Still Receiving Taxpayer Funds:
Legal Services Corporation (LSC)
Authorization expired: 1980
FY2025 Budget: $560 million
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Authorization expired: 1981
FY2024 Spending: $95 million
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Authorization expired: 2020
FY2024 Spending: $28.4 billion
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Authorization expired: 1993
Continues receiving annual appropriations
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
Authorization expired: 1992
FY2024 Spending: $525 million
Dozens of Department of Justice (DOJ) grant programs
Authorization expired: early 2000s
Still being funded through omnibus bills
According to the Congressional Budget Office, 491 of these programs account for $516 billion in federal spending — nearly 8% of the entire U.S. budget — despite having no active authorization from Congress.
Even left-leaning policy analysts admit there’s a problem — though they try to spin it. Sarah Binder of the Brookings Institution told RealClear: “If Congress is still appropriating money to the programs, they’re not Zombies. They’re living, breathing agencies.”
Translation: Congress keeps funding the swamp, and no one stops them.
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Thanks for posting. There are corrupt, evil individuals in and around “government”. Honest, hard-working taxpayers pay for these looters. Thanks to individuals at DOGE for revealing the truth. This fabulous republic suffers.
“...There are corrupt, evil individuals in and around “government”. Honest, hard-working taxpayers pay for these looters...”
^THIS^ is likely one of the many ways that these theives, once in office at a $200,000+?year salary, end up becoming multi-mmillioniars in a very short time.
Plesee tell American worker again why he/she/it should continue paying taxes? /s
There should be a working person full-blown, outright tax revolt...never happen.
Our forefathers would have hanged these theving basstids.
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Dooge is a gift that keeps on giving. God bless Elon Musk & his merry band of Patriots.
YES. Hanging is too kind. You cannot build a civilization on corruption. These effers are destroying ours.
YES
It seems to me President Trump could just eliminate as many of these as he wishes. After all, Congress didn’t authorize them so any spending for them is discretionary.
I am thinking that it is more like 18%.
DOGE needs to dig a bit deeper. I suggest that ANYTHING connected to a (D) behind the name is still hiding something. And very likely quite a few with a (R) as well.
congress grifters to busy enriching themselves and no one is watching the store, the American people have been taken for fools, NO MORE! we need to be on thier a##es like white on rice from now on
This list is PROOF POSITIVE that No Member of Congress EVER reads the budget proposals. They INTENTIONALLY bury ALL THIS CRAP in a 10,000 page Bill and deny LINE ITEM VETO.
Sadly this it TYPICAL of most if not all policy. The “required” review gets pencil whipped and passed No Questions Asked. Just maybe at the 15-20-25 year point it gets discovered.
GO DOGE! Uncover and expose this FRAUD.
“…but are kept alive through backdoor budget tricks and annual appropriations.“
That ain’t”apathy or inattention”.
The federal budget under GWB was approximately $2+ trillion, then Obama requested a one time $1.2 trillion stimulus package. Congress just kept it in the budget.
Trump added $1 trillion for pandemic relief, that Biden kept, and then added another $2 trillion.
Thats why we are now $36 trillion in debt.
The closest thing to immortality on Earth is a Government Program........Ronald Reagan.
Shut them all down. Let the leftist weenies scream. It will be enjoyable.
Hell, Congress does not get involved unless it’s 10%…… you know, come back to me when there’s some little bit of extra which be spread around. You know what I mean?
DOGE Tracker? Cartoon. Can we actually have a valid GL suspense account with the dollars not spent ie taken from one GL to the expense account. so that the money can then either be returned to us or diverted to something the congress critters want to pay for. Otherwise this is a chimera.
This is why I think the fix to an error that affect Washington DC city budget should be passed, after removal from the budget of all agencies whose authorization has expired and the cuts DOGE has identified has been added to the bill. Would be gre4at to see if we can put Dems in a squeeze. Vote for cuts to the DC city budget or for cuts to the Federal budget take your pick.
We need congress now to formalize these cuts by specifically killing the programs DOGE has exposed.
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