Government Spending and Taxes

Fischer-Manchin Legislation to Stop Government Spending on Nothing Signed Into Law: Senator Fischer and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) have reintroduced the Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act. This bipartisan legislation saves taxpayer dollars by providing additional oversight over the financial accountability of federal grant programs. The bill would require agencies to close out expired grant accounts with zero dollar balances and undisbursed funding remaining. These expired accounts cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year. The bill was singed into law on Januray 28, 2016.
Supported a Two-Year Budget Cycle: Senator Fischer is a cosponsor of The Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act. The bill would convert Congress' annual appropriations process into a two-year budget cycle and allow for increased oversight of wasteful federal programs.

Prohibited Use of Taxpayer Dollars for Costly Government Portraits: Senator Fischer became an original cosponsor of The Eliminating Government-Funded Oil-Painting (EGO) Act. The bill would prohibit the use of federal funds for painting portraits of officers and employees of the federal government. Senator Fischer cosponsored similar legislation last Congress.

Demanded Honest Accounting of Federal Programs: Senator Fischer introduced The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act. The bill would promote increased oversight of government spending and require fair-value accounting for federal credit programs. It would also require federal agencies to make public any budgetary justification materials prepared in support of their request for use of taxpayer dollars.

Exposed Taxpayer Funds Transferred to Iran: Senator Fischer and Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced the Judgment Fund Transparency and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act. The bill would allow for increased congressional oversight of payments out of the Judgment Fund, such as the $400 million ransom payment to Iran.

Protected taxpayers from IRS overreach: Senator Fischer introduced the Stop IRS Overreach Act (S.2043) to prohibit the IRS from asking any taxpayer questions regarding their religious, political, or social beliefs.

Demanded answers from the IRS: Senator Fischer became an original cosponsor of S. 2011, the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs Act of 2014. This bill would suspend for one year any rulemaking by the IRS related to Section 501(c)(4). It would also allow more time for the completion of the investigation into the IRS’ targeting of political conservative organizations.

Held the IRS accountable: Senator Fischer sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Koskinen requesting that IRS employees who fail to file or pay taxes be immediately dismissed, not rewarded. The letter also demands answers for mismanagement and wrongful bonuses. On April 22, 2014, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report showing that a number of IRS employees received bonuses despite being cited for misconduct in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Required honest government accounting: Senator Fischer introduced S. 2420, The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014. The bill would increase honesty in government accounting practices by requiring the full costs of federal credit programs to be included in both annual budgets and cost estimates for future legislation.

Opposed the death tax: Senator Fischer cosponsored the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2013 (S.1183), a bill to abolish the federal estate tax, commonly known as the “death tax". It is wrong to tax hardworking Americans twice – once when they earn their money, and again when they give it away. These families invest time, resources, energy, and faith in growing their businesses, farms, and ranches, which many hope to pass on to the next generation.

Eliminated government waste: Senator Fischer introduced S. 1792, the Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act (1792). This legislation would require federal agencies to close out the expired, empty grant accounts, and to identify why those accounts have not been closed. On April 24, 2013, The Washington Post reported, “This year, the government will spend at least $890,000 on service fees for bank accounts that are empty. At last count, Uncle Sam has 13,712 such accounts with a balance of zero. They are supposed to be closed. But nobody has done the paperwork yet.”

Worked to modernize government to save money: Senator Fischer cosponsored the Let Me Google That For You Act (S. 2206). This bill would abolish the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that collects and distributes government information. NTIS charges fees for its products and services. However, according to a Government Accountability Office report published in November 2012, “[t]he agency lost, on average, about $1.3 million over the last 11 years on its products.” Additionally, GAO reported in 2013, “information maintained by NTIS were also becoming increasingly available on agency websites and through other public sources—often at no cost.”

Introduced the Judgment Fund Transparency Act: This legislation offered by Senator Fischer would require the Treasury Department to post on a publicly accessible website the claimant, counsel, agency, fact summary, and payment amount for each claim from the Judgment Fund, unless a law or court order otherwise prohibits the disclosure of such information. Throughout the past seven years, Treasury has spent nearly $11 billion in Judgment Fund awards with scant oversight.

Original Cosponsor of the Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Senator Fischer supports a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget. If ratified, total spending outlays could not exceed total revenue receipts, and spending would be capped at 18% of gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, the president would be required to submit a balanced federal budget proposal to Congress. Finally, the amendment would establish supermajority voting thresholds for Congress to raise taxes or to increase the debt ceiling. These provisions could be waived by a majority of each House of Congress during times of war.

Opposed Massive $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill: Senator Fischer voted against the continuing resolution, H.R. 933, in March 2013. The legislation was crafted behind closed doors and included a number of legislative gimmicks rather than meaningful spending cuts. It also funds the implementation of ObamaCare, which raises healthcare premiums and has already forced employers to cut back on hiring and reduce hours.

Opposed the Senate Budget, Trillion Dollar Tax Hike: Senator Fischer voted against the Senate’s FY 2014 budget proposal, which would have increased government spending by 62 percent – or $7.3 trillion – over the next decade and raised taxes on Americans by $1.5 trillion. This was the first budget vote in the past four years under Senate Democrat leadership.

114th Congress