CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE 03/31/2016 REID IS BLOCKING BILL TO REDUCE WASTE!

Porker of the Month: Sen. Harry Reid

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Porker of the Month for blocking a bipartisan bill designed to empower federal agency inspectors general (IGs) in their battles against waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. The Inspector General Empowerment Act, introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would ensure that IGs have access to all agency records for their investigations. Despite the noncontroversial and bipartisan nature of the bill, Sen. Reid has blocked efforts to bring the measure to the Senate floor for a vote and refused to explain his objections.

 CAGW President Tom Schatz commented, “Inspectors general are frontline fighters in the battle against waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government. They should have unfettered access to any and all documents they need in order to hold agencies accountable and safeguard taxpayer dollars. ... Sen. Reid’s unfathomable objection to this measure exemplifies his utter and complete disregard for protecting taxpayers.” For standing against accountability, transparency, and one of the taxpayers’ best friends in fighting government waste, Sen. Reid is the March Porker of the Month. Read more about the Porker of the Month.

CCAGW Releases Annual Congressional Ratings

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has released its annual Congressional Ratings, identifying those members of Congress who are voting in the interest of taxpayers and those who are wasting taxpayer dollars. The latest edition of the Ratings examines 35 Senate and 100 House roll call votes related to important tax, spending, transparency, and accountability measures. This year, 17 lawmakers (15 senators and two representatives) earned the coveted title of Taxpayer Super Hero by achieving the highest possible score of 100 percent.  On the other end of the spectrum, 26 representatives and 25 senators had a score of zero. CCAGW congratulates those members who stood by taxpayers and championed fiscal responsibility throughout the first session of the 114th Congress. Find out how your congressional delegation stacks up.

CCAGW Endorses USA Act

CCAGW this month endorsed the Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act. Introduced by House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the bill would create greater accountability by ending the practice of automatically funding programs that are no longer authorized. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Congress appropriated $310 billion in fiscal year 2016 to 256 unauthorized programs, more than half of the non-defense discretionary budget. Under the USA Act, unauthorized programs would be put on a path to sunset after three years. CCAGW President Tom Schatz remarked, “CCAGW has long supported the enactment of sunset legislation. The USA Act is an important step toward the goal of subjecting all federal programs and agencies to a periodic review. ... The USA Act will compel authorizing committees to do their job more effectively and give taxpayers a much better idea of which programs are effective or essential, and which should be eliminated or pared back." Read more about the USA Act.