Reducing Duplicative Programs in Proposed Legislation
As a member of the U.S. Senate, I take very seriously my role in conducting oversight to ensure that the federal government is more accountable and efficient. But I know that Congress must take a look at itself as well. Congressional committees often focus too much on creating new problems and regulations, while slighting an equally important role of the legislative branch: overseeing and reforming laws that already exist. With this in mind, I was proud to join Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) in introducing an amendment to require that the Congressional Research Services report on any duplication created by proposed legislation before the Senate votes on it. Where duplication exists, the committee would be required to justify for members of the Senate why the duplication is necessary.
During the 112th Congress, I was also proud to introduce bipartisan legislation with my colleague, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), to establish a Committee to Reduce Government Waste (S.Res.93), which would be charged with identifying and targeting wasteful and underperforming federal government programs for elimination.
If you have further questions about this or any other issue, please contact me with your concerns.
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