What Government Fat to Cut? Larger Targets Now in DOGE Crosshairs --- Real estate eyed as cuts so far amount to small fraction of Musk's $2 trillion goal

"WASHINGTON -- The White House's Department of Government Efficiency has drawn scrutiny for the rapid work of its technology team burrowing into several agencies, but it also says it has identified and cut more than $1 billion in spending in the first three weeks.

That is a fraction of the $2 trillion in spending cuts that Elon Musk, DOGE's public face, has set as a goal, but it shows how the entity has begun going program-by-program across several federal agencies and paring back what it considers low-hanging fruit. The initial actions it has taken, identifying relatively small-dollar programs, could soon change markedly as DOGE team members are now embedding in some of the government's largest programs, particularly those focused on healthcare.

Musk's team is also working with the General Services Administration, which manages government buildings and commercial real estate, to identify which leases can be canceled or let lapse, looking for underused office space and ways to consolidate.

More than half of the cost savings that DOGE says it has found is related to diversity, equity and inclusion, totaling more than $1 billion, according to a review of the group's posts on X, where it publishes its results.

DOGE said it also terminated about $30 million in contracts for digital modernization projects and at least $4 million in leases for little-used office space.

DOGE didn't provide comment or details of how it arrived at the spending cuts when asked by The Wall Street Journal.

When President Trump created DOGE by executive order, he tasked it with identifying ways to cut spending and regulation in a way that would make the government more efficient.

The federal government is projected to spend $7 trillion in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of that, Social Security payments account for roughly $1.6 trillion, Medicare -- a government-run health program for seniors -- is projected to cost $910 billion, and another $812 billion would go toward Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and healthcare marketplace subsidies.

Other massive parts of the budget include more than $850 billion for military spending, $950 billion in net interest payments on the debt and then a bucket that includes education, housing, transportation and other programs totaling close to $1 trillion.

Musk's group, so far, appears to be targeting a subset of programs in those buckets, but he has signaled that he thinks there are much bigger savings elsewhere in the budget that his group is now shifting its attention to. For example, his group recently gained access to Medicare and Medicaid's contracting and payments system, where they say they are looking for evidence of fraud.

DOGE was also involved in cutting National Institutes of Health grant money for overhead, according to a person familiar with the matter. Scientists quickly decried the cuts, saying they would devastate important medical research. The agency estimated the cuts, announced Friday night, would save $4 billion a year by capping at 15% the fees that universities and institutions get to pay for lab-support services, rather than individually negotiated rates that can exceed 60%.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, has estimated that there was $100 billion in improper payments made in 2023 in Medicare and Medicaid.

"If the priority had been to actually cut waste and fraud in federal spending, they're not looking in the right places," because the costs of the federal workforce are a fraction of the federal budget, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, an independent government watchdog.

Brian said DOGE should focus on excessive payments to government contractors and military spending.

Because some of the spending that DOGE has targeted is money appropriated by Congress and signed into law by former President Joe Biden, a number of lawmakers have alleged that attempting to claw back this money is illegal. Musk and Russell Vought, Trump's new budget director, have challenged this precedent and are expected to fight it in court." [1]

1. U.S. News: Larger Targets Now in DOGE Crosshairs --- Real estate eyed as cuts so far amount to small fraction of Musk's $2 trillion goal. Gillum, Jack.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 Feb 2025: A4. 

 

JAV atsilieka, kuriant ledlaužius – toks kūrimas yra raktas į Trumpo tikslus regione

 

 "13 000 tonų sveriantis JAV pakrančių apsaugos laivas "Polar Star" yra mamuto laivas, sukurtas trenktis per daugiau, nei 20 pėdų storio Arkties ledą. Tačiau tai yra vienintelis JAV ledlaužis, kuris veikia ištisus metus ir buvo pastatytas beveik prieš pusę amžiaus.

 

 Intensyvėjančiose pasaulinėse lenktynėse dėl prieigos prie Arkties ledlaužiai yra pagrindinė priemonė atverti prekybos kelius, leisti išgauti išteklius ir projektuoti karinę galią. JAV ir jos sąjungininkės smarkiai atsiliko nuo Rusijos, o Kinija sparčiai įsitvirtina, padedama didžiausios pasaulyje laivų statybos pramonės.

 

 Prezidentas Trumpas pranešė, kad nori grąžinti Arktį į JAV prioritetų sąrašo viršų. Jis sakė, kad JAV turi perimti Grenlandijos nuosavybę dėl nacionalinio saugumo ir kad pakrančių apsaugos tarnyba išplės savo ledlaužių parką.

 

 „Užsisakysime apie 40 pakrančių apsaugos didžiųjų ledlaužių. Didelių“, – sausį sakė D. Trumpas.

 

 Tai bus didelis užsakymas. JAV daug metų stengėsi pastatyti vieną ledlaužį – laivus, kurie atlaisvintų kelią per ledą kitiems laivams. Net jei Trumpas sugebės sutelkti politinę valią ir pinigus statyti daugiau, JAV turės vėl įkvėpti gyvybės savo sergančiai laivų statybos pramonei, kuri dešimtmečius smunka.

 

 Tuo tarpu Rusijoje yra apie 40 ledlaužių, galinčių veikti poliarinėmis sąlygomis, taip pat statomi nauji milžiniški branduoliniai.

 

 Nepaisant to, kad Kinija yra už 900 mylių nuo poliarinio rato, ji turi keturis tokius laivus. Pasak ekspertų, pirmasis šalyje pagamintas atominis ledlaužis gali būti pristatytas jau šiais metais.

 

 Pastaraisiais metais Rusija patyrė nesėkmių. Sankcijos dėl Ukrainos konflikto apribojo jos prieigą prie komponentų ir technologijų, reikalingų ledlaužiams statyti, pavyzdžiui, varomosioms sistemoms ir radarų įrangai. Statomas branduolinis ledlaužis „Rossija“ vėluoja trejais metais. Tačiau ji turi didžiulį pranašumą ir ilgametę darbo Arktyje patirtį.

 

 Kaip ir kitose srityse, Rusija naudojasi Kinijos investicijomis ir technologine parama, galbūt, padidindama Pekino susidomėjimą poliariniais regionais. Kinijos laivų statyklai prireikė dvejų metų, kad būtų galima pristatyti vieną naujausią ledlaužį.

 

 Nors naujasis JAV ledlaužis bus sunkesnės ledlaužio klasės, nei Kinijos laivas, statybos pradėtos visai neseniai, praėjus penkeriems metams po to, kai buvo sudaryta jo statybos sutartis.

 

 Manoma, kad ledlaužiai yra būtini, norint išlaikyti buvimą Arktyje. Net atšilus pasaulinei temperatūrai ir atveriant laivybos kelius, šis regionas laivams išlieka beveik neįveikiamas visais metų mėnesiais, išskyrus vieną ar du vasarą, nebent lydėtų „Polar“ klasės ledlaužis.

 

 Grenlandija, didžiausia pasaulio sala, dėl ledo sąlygų vis dar klastinga apiplaukti laivu. Salos šiaurėje yra vienas didžiausių pasaulyje neišsivysčiusių cinko telkinių, tačiau fiordas, kuriame ji yra, beveik visus metus yra apsuptas ledo.

 

 „Negalime patekti į regioną ir negalime būti be ledlaužių“, – sakė Shannon Jenkins, JAV pakrančių apsaugos tarnybos, valdančios JAV ledlaužius, vyresnioji patarėja Arkties politikos klausimais.

 

 Ledlaužiai klasifikuojami pagal ledo storį, kurį jie gali valdyti, o „Polar“ klasės laivai pastatyti storiausiam ledui. Rusijoje yra septyni iš sunkiausios „Polar“ ledlaužių klasės. Pasak konsultacijų bendrovės „Arctic Marine Solutions“, JAV ir jos sąjungininkės turi tris, kurių vidutinis amžius yra 46 metai.

 

 Poliariniai ledlaužiai yra suformuoti taip, kad jie galėtų stumti savo lankus ant ledo ir sulaužyti jį laivo svoriu. Skaldytas ledas paprastai susilanksto po gretimu kietu ledu, palikdamas skaidraus vandens kelią paskui laivą.

 

 Remiantis praėjusių metų Kongreso biudžeto tarnybos ataskaita, JAV „Polar Star“, kuri buvo pradėta eksploatuoti 1976 m., praėjo beveik 20 metų. Antrasis JAV ledlaužis „Healy“, pradėtas eksploatuoti 1999 m., yra ne toks galingas, jo galia yra perpus mažesnė, nei sunkaus ledlaužio.

 

 Poliariniai ledlaužiai yra brangūs ir sudėtingi, o JAV jų nepastatė nuo pat Polar Star. JAV sudarė sutartį 2019 m. pastatyti naują sunkųjį ledlaužį „Polar Sentinel“. Pirmasis iš trijų naujų planuotų ledlaužių, tikimasi, kad jis bus baigtas tik po 2030 m.

 

 Rusija pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais daugiau dėmesio skyrė regionui, daugiausia dėl to, kad nuo jo priklauso šalies ekonomika.

 

 Amerikos galimybes pasivyti stabdo vidaus laivų statybos krizė. Jungtinių Tautų duomenimis, per pastaruosius trejus metus Kinija pastatė 47% visų pasaulio laivų, o JAV – tik 0,1%.

 

 Mika Nieminenas, Suomijos ledlaužius gaminančios laivų statyklos „Rauma Marine Constructions“ vadovas, sakė, kad ledlaužiais yra daug susidomėjimo, bet nedaug laivų statyklų, galinčių juos gaminti.

 

 „Man kyla klausimas – kur jie bus pagaminti“, – sakė jis.”” [1]

 

 

1. World News: U.S. Struggles to Build Icebreakers, Key to Trump's Goals in Region. MacDonald, Alistair; Kantchev, Georgi.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Feb 2025: A18.

U.S. Struggles to Build Icebreakers, Key to Trump's Goals in Region

"At 13,000 tons, the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Star is a mammoth vessel made to crash through Arctic ice more than 20 feet thick. But it is the U.S.'s only icebreaker that operates year-round, and it was built nearly half a century ago.

In the intensifying global race to access the Arctic, icebreakers are the essential tool to open trade routes, allow resource extraction and project military power. The U.S. and its allies have fallen far behind Russia, and China is rapidly gaining ground with the help of the world's largest shipbuilding industry.

President Trump has signaled that he wants to put the Arctic back at the top of the U.S.'s priority list. He has said the U.S. needs to take ownership of Greenland for national security and that the Coast Guard will expand its fleet of icebreakers.

"We're going to order about 40 Coast Guard big icebreakers. Big ones," Trump said in January.

That will be a tall order to fill. The U.S. has been struggling for years to build a single icebreaker -- vessels that clear a path through the ice for other ships. Even if Trump is able to marshal the political will and money to build more, the U.S. will have to breathe life back into its ailing shipbuilding industry, which has been in decline for decades.

Russia, meanwhile, has around 40 icebreakers capable of operating in polar conditions, as well as new giant nuclear-powered ones under construction.

Despite being 900 miles from the Arctic Circle, China has four such vessels. Its first domestically built nuclear-powered icebreaker could be unveiled as soon as this year, experts say.

Russia has faced setbacks in recent years. Sanctions over the Ukraine conflict have limited its access to components and technologies needed to build icebreakers, such as propulsion systems and radar equipment. A nuclear-powered icebreaker under construction called Rossiya is running three years behind schedule. But it has a massive lead and years of experience operating in the Arctic.

As in other areas, Russia is tapping China's investment and technological support, potentially fueling Beijing's increased interest in the polar regions. It took a Chinese shipyard two years to deliver one recent icebreaker.

Though the U.S.'s new icebreaker will be a heavier ice-breaking class than the Chinese vessel, construction started only recently, five years after the contract was awarded to build it.

Icebreakers are seen as indispensable for maintaining a presence in the Arctic. Even as global temperatures warm and open up shipping lanes, the region remains largely impenetrable for ships in all but one or two summer months -- unless accompanied by a Polar class icebreaker.

Greenland, the world's largest island, is still treacherous to circumnavigate by ship because of the ice conditions. The island has one of the world's largest undeveloped zinc deposits in its far north, but the fjord where it is located is icebound almost all of the year.

"We can't access the region and we can't have a presence without icebreakers," said Shannon Jenkins, a senior Arctic policy adviser at the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates U.S. icebreakers.

Icebreakers are classified based on the thickness of the ice they can handle, with Polar-class ships built for the thickest ice. Russia has seven of the heaviest class of Polar icebreakers. The U.S. and its allies have a combined three, with an average age of 46 years, according to consulting firm Arctic Marine Solutions.

Polar icebreakers are shaped in a way that allows them to push their bows up onto the ice and break it with the ship's weight. The broken ice generally folds under adjacent solid ice, leaving a path of clear water in the ship's wake.

The U.S.'s Polar Star, which was commissioned in 1976, is nearly 20 years beyond its designed service life, according to a Congressional Budget Office report last year. The U.S.'s second icebreaker, the Healy, commissioned in 1999, is less powerful, with half the horsepower of the heavy icebreaker.

Polar icebreakers are expensive and complex, and the U.S. hasn't built one since the Polar Star. The U.S. awarded a contract to build a new heavy icebreaker, the Polar Sentinel, in 2019. The first of three new planned ice breakers, it isn't expected to be finished until after 2030.

Russia has maintained greater focus on the region in recent decades, in large part because the country's economy depends on it.

America's ability to catch up is hampered by a domestic shipbuilding crisis. In the past three years, China has built 47% of all the world's ships, and the U.S. just 0.1%, according to United Nations data.

Mika Nieminen, the chief executive of Rauma Marine Constructions, a Finnish shipyard that makes icebreakers, said there is a lot of interest in icebreakers but not many shipyards that can make them.

"The capacity will be the question -- where are they going to be made," he said.” [1]

1. World News: U.S. Struggles to Build Icebreakers, Key to Trump's Goals in Region. MacDonald, Alistair; Kantchev, Georgi.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Feb 2025: A18.