Looking Out For Your Tax Dollars: House Passes My Bill to Cut Wasteful Gov't Spending

This week was a win for anyone who wants a more responsible and accountable government.

As a part of "Stop Government Abuse Week," the House came together to pass my bill, H.R. 313, the "Government Spending Accountability (GSA) Act of 2013." I introduced the Government Spending Accountability Act after it came to light that the GSA (the very government agency charged with keeping costs low) held a lavish $820,000 employee conference in Las Vegas, complete with a mind reader, clown, $31,000 reception and $70,000 team building exercise - sounds like fun...until the part where, we, the taxpayers paid for it. After further investigating government conference spending, I found the GSA trip was just one example of this waste of taxpayer dollars. The IRS, for example, held 225 conferences totaling over FIFTY MILLION dollars from 2010-2012. One IRS Conference included a custom made Star Trek video and line dancing classes.

Jeff Neely of the GSA putting $900,000 of your tax dollars at work in Las Vegas. Learn more by watching this video on the GSA Act.

The buck stops here. The GSA Act will require all federal agencies to publicly post detailed information about their employee conference spending - so agencies like the IRS and GSA will have to answer to us, the taxpayers, if they try to book high-dollar vacations with tax dollars. Moreover, my bill will force the senior leadership of government agencies to be held accountable for their actions by requiring their approval on big conferences.

Im not against conferences. I am, however, against conferences that are wasting taxpayers hard-earned money. If federal employees are on these conferences to work, then their expenses will reflect that.

The GSA Act is a common sense approach to cutting outrageous government spending and preventing blatant waste of taxpayer dollars on vacations (disguised as conferences). This week we sent a message to the federal government: Its time to end taxpayer-funded luxury conferences, and its time to move towards a more transparent government thats answerable to the people it serves. If the Senate agrees, the President will have no choice but take notice: the American public is through footing the bill for his Administrations vacations.

Taking Action to Stop Government Abuse

Speaking on the House Floor about the REINS Act Thursday.

We also passed several other measures to put an end to the waste, fraud and abuse thats taken residence in Washington and to keep our government accountable. We sent the following bills to the Senate this week:

H.R. 2009, “Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act" - will prohibit the IRS from implementing or enforcing any provisions of Obamacare. The IRSs political targeting of conservative groups violates its stated mission to “enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all", calling into question its ability to act as the main enforcement agency for Obamacare. Moreover, when it comes to an individual’s personal health care decisions, no American should be required to answer to the IRS. That’s why we took action to keep the IRS out of our health care by passing this bill.

H.R. 367, the "Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act" - will restore the legislative branch’s Constitutional role in the regulatory process by requiring Congressional approval of any major rules proposed by the executive branch before they can be implemented, resulting in better laws and fewer bad regulations on the American people. The REINS Act will protect America’s job creators from being buried under a regulatory burden of $1.75 trillion and will prevent the Obama Administration from circumventing Congress and our Constitution. *To watch the speech I gave on the REINS Act on the House floor, check out the video above.

H.R. 2579, the "Government Employee Accountability Act" - will empower federal agencies to fire reckless employees on the spot, and prevent those currently under investigation from receiving salaries paid for by the taxpayers. Under this bill, officials like IRS department head Lois Lerner, who was put on “paid administrative leave” despite her involvement in the agencys political targeting, will no longer receive a salary while under investigation.

H.R. 2711, the “Citizens Empowerment Act" - will create an affirmative right for individuals to record their meetings and telephone exchanges with federal agencies engaged in enforcement activities and call for government officials to notify individuals of this new right. This bill will allow the American people to better protect themselves or their business when a government official comes calling. *I discussed the Citizens Empowerment Act on the floor this week and urged my colleagues support. Watch here.

H.R. 1541, the "Commonsense in Compensation Act" - will limit the number of senior agency employees who may receive bonuses in a given year to 33%, reining in waste and abuse committed by senior federal employees. This bill will also require any agency that wants to exceed the 33% limit to petition the Office Personnel Management with a written reason and notify Congress, providing oversight by making the process public. H.R. 1541 will prevent the federal government from handing out millions in bonuses to senior-level staff while unfairly furloughing other employees.

H.R. 2565, the "Stop Targeting Our Politics (STOP) IRS Act" - will amend the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act to give the IRS the ability to fire employees who engage in political targeting by adding this offense to the "10 Deadly Sins" that warrant immediate termination. This bill will go a long way in bringing restraint and accountability back to the IRS.

H.R. 2768, the "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" - will require the IRS Commissioner and all IRS employees to respect common-sense taxpayer rights. The rights are: The right to be informed; The right to be assisted; The right to be heard; The right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax; The right of appeal; The right to certainty; The right to privacy; The right to confidentiality; The right to representation; and The right to a fair and just tax system. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will protect taxpayers from intrusive IRS requests and ensure that government employees are held accountable for their actions.

H.R. 2769, the “Stop Playing on Citizen’s Cash (SPOCC) Act" - will halt IRS conference spending until effective oversight is enforced. This bill will help rein in the IRS and end wasteful spending.

H.R. 1660, the “Government Customer Service Improvement Act" - will help ensure government agencies streamline service delivery and improve the experience of their customers. This bill will also force the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish customer service standards and target-response times for federal agencies, with employees at all levels held accountable for achieving results. These customer service standards will help prevent unacceptable delays, like those many Americans are currently experiencing when seeking vital services – such as our nation’s veterans awaiting critical medical services and benefits.

The bills we passed this week are common sense approaches to a multitude of problems of our federal government. We need more government oversight, transparency and accountability and a commitment to end the abuse of taxpayer dollars. These measures are a step in the right direction.