Atlantic County Times

Today, Congressman Van Drew addressed the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) initiatives to curb unnecessary federal spending. DOGE's role is to identify waste and fraud within the government and make recommendations to the President and Congress for potential cuts.

"Washington bureaucrats have been wasting the American people's hard-earned money for far too long, and it is time for that to stop," said Congressman Van Drew. He emphasized that budget cuts should be precise: "But let's be clear—these cuts need to be made with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. We must make sure your tax dollars are spent where they actually belong."

Van Drew criticized various international expenditures by the U.S. government, including "$15 million for condoms to the Taliban; $2 million for sex changes and LGBTQ activism in Guatemala; $1.5 million for LGBT DEI in Serbian workplaces; $70,000 for a DEI music festival in Ireland; $2.5 million on electric vehicles for Vietnam; $446,700 to promote atheism in Nepal; $47,020 for a transgender opera in Colombia; $20,600 for a drag show in Ecuador; $14 million in cash vouchers for illegal immigrants at the southern border."

He expressed his disapproval of these allocations: "It is absolutely outrageous. Every single dollar the government spends should serve the American people first, not foreign interests, not useless bureaucratic nonsense, and certainly not illegal immigrants." Van Drew proposed eliminating taxes on Social Security, tips, and overtime while preserving critical programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

"We cannot continue to spend money we do not have on the things we do not need," he stated. The congressman called for focusing on eliminating waste rather than cutting essential programs relied upon by millions of Americans.

In collaboration with the administration, Van Drew aims to ensure funds are no longer spent on programs such as teaching journalists in Sri Lanka "to avoid binary-gender language." He concluded by stressing that this effort is about prioritizing America's future: "This is about protecting our country's future, keeping our promises, and making sure America always comes first."