This morning Ramesh reminds us not to be so cynical. The freeze may apply to a small portion of the budget, he agrees, but it is a small step in the right direction. He is right. As my mother always tells me when I fail to recognize how lucky I am, “Better half a slice of bread than no slice of bread.”

So here is where I hope this small step will take us. Last week, Sen. Tom Coburn offered an amendment to reduce federal spending by $120 billion in the form of recissions (Definition: the cancellation of a contract and the return of the parties to the positions they would have had if the contract had not been made.)

Specifically, the amendment would alleviate the need to increase the national debt by rescinding at least $120 billion by consolidating more than 640 duplicative government programs, cutting wasteful Washington spending, and returning billions of dollars of unspent money. The amendment will be debated this week and early next week. Sixty votes are required to approve the amendment.

Here are some examples of recissions in the amendment:

* Rescinds $120 billion in spending (5 percent from each agency other than DoD and VA)
* Directs the agencies to consolidate more than 640 duplicative government programs
* Rescinds unobligated discretionary funds available for more than two consecutive fiscal years
* Directs GAO to identify duplicative government programs and report the findings to Congress
* Renders the debt limit increase ($1.9 trillion) in the underlying bill null and void

Examples of federal duplication:

* A 2004 report by a non-profit research group listed 21 federal programs, across multiple agencies, many at HHS, that funded childhood-obesity programs — either as the main focus or as one component of the federal program.
* There are over 14 programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education related to foreign exchanges and designed to increase opportunities for students to study abroad.
* According to a 2003 GAO report, to the tune of $30 billion, the federal government funds more than 44 job-training programs, administered by nine different federal agencies across the federal bureaucracy.
* A 2009 GAO report found 69 early-education programs administered by nine different agencies.
* There are over 30 federal programs that provide financial assistance to students to support postsecondary education, costing taxpayers over $30 billion annually,
* According to a May 2007 report of the Academic Competitiveness Council, there are 105 federal programs supporting STEM education, with aggregate funding of $3.2 billion in FY 2006.
* There are at least 17 offender reentry programs across five different federal agencies, costing taxpayers over $250 million annually.

For many more examples go here.