Sec. 815. Policy statement on reducing unnecessary, wasteful, and unauthorized spending
570 words·~3 min read·
/bill/114/hconres/27/eh/section-815·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The House finds the following: The Government Accountability Office
(GAO)is required by law to identify examples of waste, duplication, and overlap in Federal programs, and has so identified dozens of such examples. In its report to Congress on Government Efficiency and Effectiveness, the Comptroller General has stated that addressing the identified waste, duplication, and overlap in Federal programs could lead to tens of billions of dollars of additional savings. . In 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 the GAO issued reports showing excessive duplication and redundancy in Federal programs including— two hundred nine Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education programs in 13 different Federal agencies at a cost of $3 billion annually; two hundred separate Department of Justice crime prevention and victim services grant programs with an annual cost of $3.9 billion in 2010; twenty different Federal entities administer 160 housing programs and other forms of Federal assistance for housing with a total cost of $170 billion in 2010; seventeen separate Homeland Security preparedness grant programs that spent $37 billion between fiscal years 2011 and 2012; fourteen grant and loan programs, and three tax benefits to reduce diesel emissions; ninety-four different initiatives run by 11 different agencies to encourage green building in the private sector; and twenty-three agencies implemented approximately 670 renewable energy initiatives in fiscal year 2010 at a cost of nearly $15 billion. The Federal Government spends more than $80 billion each year for approximately 1,400 information technology investments. GAO has identified broad acquisition failures, waste, and unnecessary duplication in the Government’s information technology infrastructure. experts have estimated that eliminating these problems could save 25 percent or $20 billion. GAO has identified strategic sourcing as a potential source of spending reductions. In 2011 GAO estimated that saving 10 percent of the total or all Federal procurement could generate more than $50 billion in savings annually. Federal agencies reported an estimated $106 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2013. Under clause 2 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, each standing committee must hold at least one hearing during each 120 day period following its establishment on waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in Government programs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, by fiscal year 2015, 32 laws will expire, possibly resulting in $693 billion in unauthorized appropriations. Timely reauthorizations of these laws would ensure assessments of program justification and effectiveness. The findings resulting from congressional oversight of Federal Government programs should result in programmatic changes in both authorizing statutes and program funding levels. Each authorizing committee annually should include in its Views and Estimates letter required under section 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 recommendations to the Committee on the Budget of programs within the jurisdiction of such committee whose funding should be reduced or eliminated. Committees of jurisdiction should review all unauthorized programs funded through annual appropriations to determine if the programs are operating efficiently and effectively. Committees should reauthorize those programs that in the committees’ judgment should continue to receive funding. For those programs not reauthorized by committees, the House of Representatives should enforce the limitations on funding such unauthorized programs in the House rules. If the strictures of the rules are deemed to be too rapid in prohibiting spending on unauthorized programs, then milder measures should be adopted and enforced until a return to the full prohibition of clause 2(a)(1) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House.