Lankford, Cooper Take Steps to Eliminate Federal Government Duplication

Washington, D.C. – Chairman James Lankford (R-OK) reintroduced the bipartisan Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act (H.R. 1423), in the House to provide the American people with a better understanding of how their tax dollars are spent. The Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act was originally initiated by the findings in the annual GAO duplication report in 2011. The 2013 GAO annual report was released April 9, 2013, and continues to shed light on wasteful duplication in the federal government.

The Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act addresses federal government waste by requiring each federal agency to produce an annual report that identifies every program with a description of the program and its costs, expenditures for services, beneficiaries of services and number of staff. This information would be posted online with recommendations from each agency to improve efficiency. By eliminating overlap, duplicative programs and services and fraudulent payments, GAO estimates we could save tens of billions of dollars annually

“As taxpaying Americans, we have a right to know where, when, why, how and on what our government spends our hard-earned dollars,” said Chairman Lankford.

“The Taxpayers Right-to Know-Act provides the American people with a high-powered magnifying glass to evaluate administrative costs and expenses, which ultimately siphon away funds from the very people they are designed to serve. Access to this vital information will allow us to make each federal program more effective and efficient by streamlining duplicative, outdated and unnecessary programs while simultaneously improving services and outcomes.

“Taxpayers deserve the maximum level of accountability for the money they send to Washington each year. This bill demonstrates to the American people that some of us in Congress are actually serious about protecting taxpayer dollars from the waste and duplication inherent in government,” concluded Lankford.

“When you’re in a hole, the first rule is to stop digging,” said Rep. Jim Cooper. “We don’t need to create programs that already exist,” he concluded.

To view the 2013 GAO Report on Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits and to find other helpful information on federal duplication, click here. 

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Contact: Kelly Ferguson 202.225.2132