As you read this, billions of dollars of taxpayer money are being spent to fund redundant or wasteful government programs. Congress requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a detailed report of these programs on an annual basis. While there is always outrage at the report’s findings, no significant action has been taken to address the problem until now.
The 2011 GAO report, released in March, makes it abundantly clear that Congress has not done a good job minding the books. Among the report’s outrageous findings are the following: more than 100 programs dealing with surface transportation issues, 82 programs monitoring teacher quality, 47 for job training, 20 devoted to homelessness, and 17 different grant programs for disaster preparedness. The list goes on and on.
While some of these programs are valuable, we cannot allow this kind of waste and redundancy to continue, especially as our nation struggles with a $14 trillion debt and a $1.6 trillion budget deficit. The unfettered growth of federal agencies with little to no oversight has to stop.
It is time for Congress to take action, and we’re going to need real, bipartisan cooperation to get the job done. Working together, we have introduced a bipartisan resolution effort to force Congress to take a closer look at programs that could be combined or eliminated entirely. Our plan requires the relevant congressional committees to hold hearings on all programs deemed duplicative by the GAO within 90 days of the publication of each new report.
With the potential for savings reaching into the billions, it would be irresponsible not to evaluate the programs that have been identified as redundant. For example, there are currently 56 programs across 20 agencies that address financial literacy issues. There are 80 different economic development programs spread between four agencies. The result is not only waste but a bureaucratic nightmare of different application deadlines, program parameters and review processes for anyone trying to navigate the federal government. Confusion also abounds about what agency or program constituents need to be dealing with.
Even if an investigation determines that some of these programs are serving distinct and valuable needs, it is clear we could save taxpayer money by consolidating these efforts and reducing administrative costs.
It is also clear we cannot afford to wait any longer. America is facing a serious fiscal crisis, and it will take Republicans and Democrats working together to address this challenge.
As Congress and the White House continue debating writing the federal budget, we will undoubtedly have disagreements over policy and priorities for our country. That kind of debate is at the core of what makes our democracy great, and it ensures a full and transparent process.
But restoring fiscal responsibility is not a partisan issue. We must get serious about cutting the deficit, and there is no excuse for allowing wasteful or duplicative programs to continue.
Moreover, as we consider asking the states, cities and American people to absorb deeper cuts in the name of fiscal responsibility, Washington needs to ensure that every dime of taxpayer money is being used as efficiently as possible. Our resolution is not the complete answer to the federal budget deficit, but it represents a real, bipartisan step that Congress can take right now in order to steer our country in a more fiscally responsible direction.
Republican Cory Gardner represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District and Democrat Gary Peters represents Michigan’s 9th District.
