Washington, Sep 25 -

Today, Congressman John Sullivan introduced comprehensive legislation aimed at making our government more efficient and accountable to American taxpayers.  H.R. 7071, the Federal Agency Program Realignment and Closure Act (FAPRAC) creates a bipartisan commission designed to combat runaway federal spending, reform government programs and change the way Washington does business once and for all.

“I introduced this legislation to put Washington on notice that the days of an unaccountable and wasteful federal government must come to an end” Sullivan said. “Right now, we are faced with an ever increasing budget, continually growing entitlement programs and a federal deficit that economists predict will hit $500 billion by 2010 - it is hard to deny that the entire federal government could use a dose of accountability in its spending habits.  My legislation, which would potentially save taxpayers untold billions of dollars, will take the necessary first step toward draining the swamp in Washington and restoring people’s faith in their government.”

This legislation is closely modeled after the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) process, a proven model that saves taxpayer money while making the military more effective and better suited to adapt to changing environments and challenges.  The newly formed commission will consist of 17 bipartisan members, including both public and private sector officials, which will provide an objective, non-partisan, and independent review and analysis of all federal agencies and programs.  The commission will target agencies and programs that perform a duplicative function, would perform better at the state level or in the private sector and create a list of recommended realignments and closures.  Congress will then have an up or down vote on the commission’s recommendations.  All saved funds will be used solely for deficit reduction meaning they can’t be used to fund new or existing government programs.

“Spending in Washington, D.C. is completely out of control” Sullivan said.  “I believe that if we are going to keep putting new spending and programs on the table, then we absolutely must have a mechanism to take old things off – simply put, the federal government needs to clean out the attic.  The American people understand that if you spend too much of your budget this month you cut back the next month - and they expect their government to work the same way.  The handwriting is on the wall and it is time to put the federal government back to work for the people – my legislation will do just that.”

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