* funding of inappropriate policies of the International Monetary Fund (General Agreements to Borrow, IMF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility);
* costly, inefficient subsidies for road and highway construction (Timber Roads in the National Forest Program, Appalachian Regional Commission Roads Program, Highway Demonstration Projects);
* wasteful energy subsidies for major corporations and a select group of residential consumers (Pyroprocessing Program, Rural Utilities Service); and
* an expensive and potentially environmentally damaging public water works project in southwest Colorado (Animas La Plata).
* costly, inefficient subsidies for road and highway construction (Timber Roads in the National Forest Program, Appalachian Regional Commission Roads Program, Highway Demonstration Projects);
* wasteful energy subsidies for major corporations and a select group of residential consumers (Pyroprocessing Program, Rural Utilities Service); and
* an expensive and potentially environmentally damaging public water works project in southwest Colorado (Animas La Plata).
In the Senate, John McCain and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) are reviving proposed legislation to create a nine-member Corporate Subsidy Reform Commission--modeled after the military base closure commission--that would target dubious programs and tax loopholes for reform or termination. Senator McCain cosponsored similar legislation (S.1376, the Corporate Subsidies Review, Reform, and Termination Act of 1995) with Senator Spence Abraham (R-Wisconsin) that lapsed in the 104th Congress. Under the McCain-Kennedy bill, Congress would have four months in which to approve, reject, or amend the commission's recommendations.
In March 1997, the Progressive Caucus, a group of 58 liberal congressional Democrats, announced its corporate welfare list of 15 examples of tax breaks and federal subsidies to be eliminated. Its proposal would save $56.9 billion the first year and $261.6 billion over the next five years. The list was endorsed by the Coalition on Human Needs, the National Education Association, the Center for Community Change, the Community Nutrition Institute, Common Cause, Tax Watch, and the Corporate Wealthfare Project, among others. Unlike the SCW proposal, which concentrates on spending programs only, the Progressive Caucus emphasizes tax deductions for corporations and wealthy individuals. Its tax proposals will not be seriously considered by the Republican-controlled Congress, but certain spending programs, such as OPIC, will receive stronger bipartisan support for elimination.
The McCain-Kennedy legislation is a one-time proposal for addressing corporate welfare. But what should Congress do when evaluating subsidies or tax and regulatory breaks for corporations on an ongoing basis? The libertarian Cato Institute position is straightforward: eliminate all forms of direct subsidy to corporations, save tax provisions applicable across the board to all businesses. But the Cato approach is a minority policy position. Other suggested corporate accountability proposals are applied to specific programs or expenditures and are categorized as follows:
Disclosure. The federal government would consolidate and regularly report information about corporate assistance programs, expenditures, and recipients, thereby allowing for precise summary statistics on the total number and costs of programs. This suggested approach contrasts with the present ambiguity involving which definition of "corporate welfare" is being used in a report, the consequent range of programs and expenditures identified, and irregular reporting by nongovernmental organizations. Public hearings would be held before new corporate assistance programs are introduced. Corporations would be required each year to report publicly the specific type of assistance rece
In March 1997, the Progressive Caucus, a group of 58 liberal congressional Democrats, announced its corporate welfare list of 15 examples of tax breaks and federal subsidies to be eliminated. Its proposal would save $56.9 billion the first year and $261.6 billion over the next five years. The list was endorsed by the Coalition on Human Needs, the National Education Association, the Center for Community Change, the Community Nutrition Institute, Common Cause, Tax Watch, and the Corporate Wealthfare Project, among others. Unlike the SCW proposal, which concentrates on spending programs only, the Progressive Caucus emphasizes tax deductions for corporations and wealthy individuals. Its tax proposals will not be seriously considered by the Republican-controlled Congress, but certain spending programs, such as OPIC, will receive stronger bipartisan support for elimination.
The McCain-Kennedy legislation is a one-time proposal for addressing corporate welfare. But what should Congress do when evaluating subsidies or tax and regulatory breaks for corporations on an ongoing basis? The libertarian Cato Institute position is straightforward: eliminate all forms of direct subsidy to corporations, save tax provisions applicable across the board to all businesses. But the Cato approach is a minority policy position. Other suggested corporate accountability proposals are applied to specific programs or expenditures and are categorized as follows:
Disclosure. The federal government would consolidate and regularly report information about corporate assistance programs, expenditures, and recipients, thereby allowing for precise summary statistics on the total number and costs of programs. This suggested approach contrasts with the present ambiguity involving which definition of "corporate welfare" is being used in a report, the consequent range of programs and expenditures identified, and irregular reporting by nongovernmental organizations. Public hearings would be held before new corporate assistance programs are introduced. Corporations would be required each year to report publicly the specific type of assistance rece
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