Representative Tom Barrett, DOGE, 29 April 2025
Congressman Tom Barrett responding to your message
From: "Congressman Tom Barrett" MI07TBIMA@mail.house.gov To: jpjackson01@*** Date: Apr 29, 2025 6:03:11 PM
April 29, 2025
Dear Mr. Jackson,
Thank you for contacting me about your opposition to Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). I appreciate your patience and understanding for any delay in getting you this response as my office has been working hard to gather the facts.
First and foremost, I understand your concerns, especially when it comes to some of the uncertainty around personal benefits and other programs that you and others in mid-Michigan may rely on. While some programs have been temporarily paused for review, this does not include Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. These are programs that I will always fight to save and strengthen.
The unfortunate reality is that waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. As a result, billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on programs with little to no accountability from the American people. This, in part, is why Elon Musk was appointed by President Trump to serve as a senior advisor. Elon is not the administrator of DOGE nor is he technically a part of it. DOGE is giving recommendations to agency heads, the president, and Congress on ways to cut waste, fraud, abuses of tax dollars, and updates to critical systems.
Now, there are a few things to keep in mind:
DOGE does not have unilateral authority. Any decisions about spending or personnel are given from the President of the United States to the agencies and departments. Any individual with access to personal information is doing so in full compliance with federal law, with appropriate security clearances, and as fully-vetted and hired employees of the relevant agencies. They are not outside advisors and can in no way change or delete your information. Personnel and functions critical to national security, public safety, law enforcement, and immigration enforcement are exempt from workforce changes. Congress, through the appropriations process, ultimately has the final say on what programs do and do not receive federal funding moving forward.
You should also know that this situation continues to develop. On February 6, the Treasury Department agreed not to give Elon Musk or DOGE access to its payment system while a judge hears arguments in court. This is something I will continue to monitor closely.
The bottom line is that the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on. While DOGE may be new, efforts to make the government more efficient are not. In fact, President Bill Clinton offered millions of government employees buyouts and reduced the federal government's workforce by more than 377,000 employees as part of an initiative called the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. Additionally, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to stop wasteful spending and ensure that every tax dollar was spent efficiently.
While we may not agree on this issue, please know as the Department of Government Efficiency continues its audit of the federal bureaucracy, I will continue encouraging the Trump administration to do so with thoughtfulness and transparency. You can track what DOGE is finding in real time at doge.gov/savings.
Thank you again for sharing your concerns with me. My top priority as your advocate in Congress is to listen to you and lead on solutions you can count on, so please stay in touch. For regular updates on my work in Washington, D.C., I encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here.
Sincerely,
Tom Barrett Member of Congress
My response to Tom Barrett:
I have your response to my concerns about DOGE and the actions of the Trump administration. I found your response evasive and misleading.
Your fundamental claim is is thqt DOGE is an effort to make the "government more efficient." In claiming this, you are repeating a well-documented lie Musk and his allies in the administration are telling. Those interested in government efficiency do not cut the Offices of the Inspector General, as DOGE has. Those interested in government efficiency would investigate, and possibly eliminate the billions that Musk takes from the US taxpayer for his own businesses. Those interested in government efficiency do not continually lie about the "savings" they are supposedly making: in March alone, DOGE withdrew 40% of its claimed "savings," Just this week, DOGE claimed to "save" $160b but the receipts only show $63b. So, please, do not tell me that DOGE is about "government efficiency," it is about lying and grift. I expect such actions from Trump and Musk, but I will not tolerate it from someone who claims to be representing my interests.
You further claim that you will protect "public safety." You cannot protect public safety while Trump destroys medical and scientific research. Not only does such public investment return huge economic benefits to the economy, but they make us a healthier and safer population. To the extend you remain silent about the "chainsaw" to these programs, you endanger all of us economically and physically.
Your letter also lists the efforts by the Clinton and Obama administrations to make the government more efficient. It is rare, I will admit, for the Republican to so clearly demonstrate that the Democrats are better at making government more efficient, but it seems that is what you are reduced to. Yes, cutting wasteful spending is important. And the Democratic administrations, as you showed, did it correctly. The Republicans are simply laying waste to important programs to benefit billionaires.