Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Newsmax Tuesday that the package of bills she introduced last week known as the DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] Acts will help rein in federal spending and hold the government accountable for its use of taxpayer dollars.
"They call for a 1% or 2% or a 5% across-the-board spending cut in everything except your national security and defense," Blackburn told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "This is important to do to get into that discretionary spending and make those rescissions. It doesn't touch entitlements, just discretionary spending."
Another piece of legislation included in the package would freeze "federal hiring and federal salaries," which she said is "important to do so that you can begin to reduce the federal workforce and actually assess what people are doing in their jobs and the effectiveness of those jobs."
"We lose about 80,000 federal employees every year to retirement," Blackburn said. "If you're freezing it, think of the difference that will make in a period of two or three years as you reorganize and reengineer departments."
Other components of the legislation package include bills that would require federal employees to return to the office, move federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C., and establish a performance-based pay structure for government workers.
"Stop paying people just because they've been there another year — pay them because they're doing a great job," Blackburn said.
Blackburn also weighed in on the mysterious drone sightings that have alarmed residents across the country and prompted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to demand action from the Biden administration.
"It is indeed very odd, and it's concerning," Blackburn said. "Tennesseans brought this up a lot when I was home over the weekend because this started out in one area and it has expanded, and it is reminiscent of the spy balloon that sashayed across the country [last year] and took pictures at our military installations."
"Only when the Biden administration was caught did they admit they knew what it was, and they waited until it went across the entire country before they shot it down over the East Coast," she said. "I think maybe it's time to shoot down one of these drones and find out where they're from and what they are trying to gather."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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