Editor’s Note: a guest post by Richie Edmonds, a Republican city councilman in St. George, Louisiana.

I’m all for cutting waste and making our federal government more fiscally responsible. In doing so, however, we should prioritize ending corporate handouts before we even think about cutting programs that benefit the public. There are two opportunities for reform that could save the government hundreds of millions of dollars per year while actually helping citizens and consumers in the process. They both involve lucrative tax subsidies and carveouts for the hard liquor industry.

The first opportunity for reform is the Rum Cover-Over (RCO) Program. RCO is a program intended to aid the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The concept is simple enough: The federal government takes the alcohol tax revenue from rum made in these territories and sends it back to their local governments. The money can then be used to provide public services and economic development there. It’s a nice idea in theory, but in practice, the rum producers in these territories have begun demanding greater and greater tax subsidies from the local governments. The result? Excise tax money is going to fund these rum distillers (often large, foreign-headquartered corporations) to the tune of up to $250 million annually (30% of total RCO funds).

Another opportunity for reform is the Section 5010 tax loophole. This area of the tax code also benefits distillers, though not just rum makers. It allows hard liquor producers to significantly reduce the amount they pay in excise taxes by adding certain “extra ingredients” to the liquor—things like “non-beverage flavorings” and even high-potency wine. Distillers can lower their tax rate from $8.10 per gallon all the way down to $5.08 per gallon. This loophole costs the U.S. government over $300 million every year and disproportionately benefits large, multinational companies. Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that there are no labeling requirements—nearly half the whiskey bottle on the store shelf could really be “non-beverage flavorings” without the consumer ever knowing.

Clearly, it’s time for change. First, we should reform the Rum Cover-Over Program. It should be returned to its original goal of helping the people of these U.S. territories, not padding the profits of foreign rum makers. First, we need to bring transparency to the RCO Program by requiring the government certify the portion of RCO funds transferred to rum producers. Then, I propose capping rum subsidies to 5% of rum tax revenue received by each territory. Lastly, we should have a sunset provision that eliminates the rum subsidies entirely after five years. This will allow RCO money to be used as it was originally intended.

Solving the Section 5010 tax loophole is a simpler fix—eliminate it, entirely! Getting rid of this carveout will return hundreds of millions of dollars back to our federal budget. It won’t solve all our fiscal problems, but it will certainly help. We should enact these changes, and look for more like them; after all, asking ordinary citizens to endure cuts to important services while big companies continue enjoying corporate welfare is just wrong. I hope Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and all of our elected leaders in Washington will fight to make these crucial changes.