Senator Bob Corker, (R-Tn.), said Wednesday he is cosponsoring legislation to require federal agencies to provide taxpayers an annual report card describing and outlining the costs of their programs.
The Taxpayers Right to Know Act (S. 1957), introduced by Senator Tom Coburn, (R-Ok.), would require every government program to be identified and described, including the total administrative costs of the program, expenditures for services, number of beneficiaries who receive assistance from the program, and an estimate of the number of staff who administer the program, including contractor staff.
“Families across Tennessee want to know where their tax dollars are being spent and they deserve transparency and accountability from the federal government,” said Senator Corker. “Getting our country’s spending and debt under control is the struggle of this decade and by shedding light on duplication, waste and inefficiency in government programs, this bill provides a necessary step in getting our fiscal house in order.”
In an effort to address overlap and unnecessary duplication in government programs, this bill would also require the following: a listing of other programs within the federal government with duplicative or overlapping missions and services; the latest performance reviews for the program, including the metrics used to review the program; the latest improper payment rate for the program, including fraudulent payments; and the total amount of unspent and unobligated program funds held by the agency and grant recipients.
This information would be updated annually and posted online, along with recommendations from the agency to consolidate duplicative and overlapping programs, eliminate waste and inefficiency, and terminate lower priority, outdated and unnecessary programs.