WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Rick Scott, Mike Braun, Mike Crapo and Thom Tillis introduced the Agency Accountability Act to give Congress the ability to help streamline operations and reduce waste at federal agencies. Congress currently has no mechanism to regularly review the efficiency of bloated federal agencies, which would ultimately save taxpayer dollars. The Agency Accountability Act creates a review process to routinely evaluate the efficiency of federal agencies, justify their existence in their current structure, and offer recommendations for change in the form of proposed legislation.

Senator Rick Scott said, “This year’s federal budget deficit will be the largest in the history of our nation. Congress has to get serious about how we are spending taxpayer dollars. An easy way to do that is to routinely examine efficiencies at our federal agencies. I did it on the state level as Governor of Florida, and it saved Florida taxpayers millions of dollars. The Agency Accountability Act will help eliminate the waste and redundancies that we see throughout the federal government, and is a common sense way to help make Washington work.”
 

Senator Mike Braun said, “I come from the business world where budget discipline isn’t just something you talk about, it’s necessary to survive. Our budget system is broken from top to bottom, and we desperately need an efficiency review program for federal agencies to give taxpayers the basic level of accountability on how their money is being spent.”  

Senator Mike Crapo said, “Congress must exercise its oversight responsibilities to prevent waste, fraud and mismanagement of federal programs. Moreover, as stewards of federal spending, we must account for every dollar and ensure it helps Americans.  The Agency Accountability Act will accomplish both of these important tasks.”

Senator Thom Tillis said, “It is imperative that the federal government take steps to streamline its operations as our national debt grows to unprecedented levels. The Agency Accountability Act does just that and provides an opportunity to examine and possibly restructure federal agencies so American taxpayers receive the highest possible service.”

The Agency Accountability Act:

• Creates a 13 member bipartisan commission, appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, with a single appointee by the President, to regularly review agency operations.
• Requires each federal agency, including each advisory committee, to be reviewed by the commission at least once every 6 years.
• The commission must:
  • Review and evaluate the efficiency and public need for each agency using specified criteria;
  • Recommend whether each agency should be abolished or reorganized; and  
  • Report to Congress on introduced legislation that would establish a new agency or a new program, or reorganize a current agency or program.
• Grants legislation proposed by the commission expedited consideration in Congress.

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