39–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–355 

TAXPAYERS RIGHT-TO-KNOW ACT 

FEBRUARY 21, 2014.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. ISSA, from the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 1423] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 1423) to provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the cost and performance of Government programs and areas of duplication among them, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with 

an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Committee Statement and Views ........................................................................... 2 

Section-by-Section .................................................................................................... 4 

Explanation of Amendments ................................................................................... 5 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 5 

Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ....................................................... 5 

Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee ...... 5 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 5 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 6 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 6 

Federal Advisory Committee Act ............................................................................ 6 

Unfunded Mandate Statement ............................................................................... 6 

Earmark Identification ............................................................................................ 6 

Committee Estimate ................................................................................................ 6 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .................... 6 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported ...................................... 8 

Additional Views ...................................................................................................... 10 


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The amendment (stated in terms of the page and line numbers 

of the introduced bill) is as follows: 

Page 3, line 7, insert after ‘‘funds’’ the following: ‘‘, including any 

finding of duplication or overlap identified by internal review, an 

Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, or other 

report to the agency about the program’’. 

COMMITTEE STATEMENT AND VIEWS

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 1423, the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, is designed to significantly reduce waste, misspending, and inefficiency throughout 

the federal government. The federal government wastes billions of 

dollars annually by operating programs that have duplicative, overlapping, or fragmented missions. Some experts estimate the annual 

cost of government duplication at $100 billion or more. 

The Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act provides information on government programs, spending, and duplication. The bill establishes 

several reporting requirements for agencies to better identify inefficiencies. Each agency is required to catalogue the programs it oversees, providing information on program cost and costs attributable 

to administrative overhead. Each agency is also required to evaluate its programs, collectively, for duplication and overlap. 

Agencies are further required to make recommendations to consolidate duplicative or overlapping programs, eliminate waste and 

inefficiency, and terminate unnecessary, outdated, or low priority 

programs. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to issue an annual report identifying duplication of programs across agencies, and to provide consolidation recommendations. All the reports and recommendations required by the bill are 

to be made available to the public in an accessible online format. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Now more than ever, agencies must do a better job of managing 

their programs and identifying areas where taxpayer dollars are 

not being used efficiently. The Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act provides the American people with vital information on government 

spending and program management. Access to this information will 

help reduce duplication and ensure that the government is providing services in an efficient manner. 

In 2010, Senator Coburn added to a bill raising the federal debt 

limit an amendment requiring the U.S. Government Accountability 

Office (GAO) to report on duplication and overlap across the federal 

government. Consequently, GAO now submits an annual report to 

Congress identifying specific areas of duplication and ways to realize cost savings. 

GAO identified 81 areas of duplication and potential cost savings 

in its first report, issued in 2011. In the most recent report, GAO 

found 51 new areas of waste and duplication across the federal government, identifying billions of dollars of waste that could easily be 

prevented. While GAO’s recommendations are a start toward making government more efficient and cost effective, government agencies are uniquely positioned to also assume responsibility for identifying unnecessary duplication. It is the federal agencies that actually administer programs on a day-to-day basis. This level of intiVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Feb 25, 2014 Jkt 039006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR355.XXX HR355

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1Government Accountability Office. Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue, March 2011, GAO–11–318SP. Available at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/320/315920.pdf. 2 Id. 

3Government Accountability Office, 2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, 

Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue, February 28, 2012, GAO– 

12–342SP. Available at: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-342SP. 4GAO briefing to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, April 2, 

2013. 

macy with individual programs and their stakeholders provides 

senior civil servants at each agency with specialized knowledge 

that should be brought to bear in the effort to eliminate program 

duplication. GAO’s first report was released in March 2011, and 

identified 34 areas of duplication, overlap, and fragmentation 

across government.1 The report also highlighted 47 areas of potential cost savings.2 In February 2012, GAO released its second report identifying 32 areas of duplication, overlap, and fragmentation 

of government programs, as well as 19 areas of cost savings.3 Unlike the first annual report, which contained areas previously highlighted by GAO, the second report contained new findings. GAO’s 

third report, released in 2013, highlighted 31 new areas, including 

17 instances of fragmentation, duplication, or overlap, and 14 areas 

of potential cost savings.4

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee has held 

hearings on each of GAO’s reports on duplication. On March 3, 

2011, the Full Committee held a hearing entitled, ‘‘Refuse of the 

Federal Spending Binge II: How U.S. Taxpayers are Paying Double 

for Failing Government Programs.’’ In this hearing, the Committee 

discussed the 2011 GAO report, which identified 81 examples of 

duplication in government including programs related to tax benefits, military spending, food safety, economic development, and biological terror threats. One year later on February 28, 2012, the 

Full Committee reviewed the 2012 GAO report outlining continued 

duplication within the federal government at a hearing entitled, 

‘‘Government 2.0: GAO Unveils New Duplicative Program Report.’’ 

This report identified 51 additional areas of duplication including 

defense procurement, financial literacy, information technology investments, revenue collection and fraud detection in key entitlement programs. On April 9, 2013, the Committee held a Full Committee hearing entitled ‘‘Reducing Waste in Government: Addressing GAO’s 2013 Report on Duplicative Federal Programs.’’ The 

hearing focused on GAO’s third report, which identified 31 new 

areas and also evaluated actions taken to address duplicative programs identified in previous reports. The Committee also held two 

subcommittee hearings about government duplication with narrower breadth: one hearing concerned duplication in social welfare 

programs, and another concerned duplicative information technology investments. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

In the 112th Congress, the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act was introduced by Representative James Lankford as H.R. 3609 on December 8, 2011. The bill was referred to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. A companion bill, S. 1957, was introduced 

by Senator Tom Coburn on December 7, 2011. S. 1957 was referred 

to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Feb 25, 2014 Jkt 039006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR355.XXX HR355

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mittee but no further action was taken. In the 113th Congress, 

Representative Lankford reintroduced the bill as H.R. 1423. The 

bill was referred to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and was subsequently adopted by the Committee on July 24, 

2013. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1. Short title 

This section is the short title of the bill, the ‘‘Taxpayers RightTo-Know Act.’’ 

Section 2. Agency requirements relating to annual report on the cost 

and performance of government programs and areas of duplication among programs 

This section of the bill requires agencies to provide information 

on the programs they administer and on any duplication or overlap 

among such programs. For every program it administers, each 

agency must identify and describe the program, its cost, the number of full-time equivalent employees responsible for its administration, and the estimated number of people served. Each agency is 

further directed to identify and report on any programs with duplicative or overlapping functions. 

Each agency is required to post the aforementioned information 

annually on a publicly accessible page on its website—accessible 

via a link on the agency’s homepage. For each of its programs, each 

agency must also post the most recent performance reviews, and 

report on any expired grant funding. For susceptible programs, 

each agency must also provide an estimate of the volume of improper payments made. 

In addition to reporting on programs and duplication, agencies 

are directed to provide recommendations to consolidate duplicative 

or overlapping programs, eliminate waste and inefficiency, and terminate programs that are deemed unnecessary, outdated, or low 

priority. 

Section 3. Office of Management and Budget requirements relating 

to annual report on the cost and performance of government 

programs and areas of duplication among programs 

This section requires the Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) to publish an annual report identifying programs across government that have duplicative or overlapping 

services. The report will provide recommendations to consolidate 

duplicative and overlapping programs, eliminate waste, and terminate unnecessary, outdated, or low priority programs. 

Section 4. Government accountability office requirements relating to 

identification, consolidation, and elimination of duplicative 

government programs 

This section amends Section 21 of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 

Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 712 note) by adding a subsection ‘‘(b)’’ requiring that the Comptroller General maintain a publicly available 

website, updated at least annually, that tracks the status of responses by Departments to Congress to suggested actions that the 


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Comptroller General has previously identified in annual reports 

under subsection (a) of Section 21. 

Section 5. Definitions 

The section defines: administrative costs; services; agency; performance indicator, performance goal, output measure; and programs—as established by statute and OMB guidance. 

Section 6. Classified information 

This section specifies that the Act does not require the disclosure 

of classified information. 

Section 7. Regulations and implementation 

This section requires the OMB Director to prescribe regulations 

within 120 days of enactment in order to implement the Taxpayers 

Right-To-Know Act at the inception of the first full fiscal year after 

the date of enactment. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

Amendment Offered by Ms. Speier—Ms. Speier offered an amendment requiring agencies to report on their programs any findings 

of duplication or overlap identified by internal review, an Inspector 

General, the Government Accountability Office, or other report to 

the agency. The amendment was accepted by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On July 24, 2013, the Committee met in open session and ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 1423, as amended, by voice 

vote, a quorum being present. 

APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104–1 requires a description of 

the application of this bill to the legislative branch where the bill 

relates to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services and accommodations. This bill provides information on 

government programs, spending, and duplication. As such this bill 

does not relate to employment or access to public services and accommodations. 

Legislative branch employees and their families, to the extent 

that they are otherwise eligible for the benefits provided by this 

legislation, have equal access to its benefits. 

STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF

THE COMMITTEE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause (2)(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 

descriptive portions of this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee’s performance goals and 

objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions of this report. 


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DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

No provision of H.R. 1423 establishes or reauthorizes a program 

of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

The Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 1423 does not direct 

the completion of any specific rule makings within the meaning of 

5 U.S.C. 551. 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish or 

authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within the 

definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b). 

UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandate 

Reform Act, P.L. 104–4) requires a statement as to whether the 

provisions of the reported include unfunded mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a letter 

from the Congressional Budget Office included herein. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

H.R. 1423 does not include any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule 

XXI. 

COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 

1423. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its 

report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of 

the Congressional Budget Act. 

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for 

H.R. 1423 from the Director of Congressional Budget Office: 


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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 22, 2013. 

Hon. DARRELL ISSA, 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1423, the Taxpayers 

Right-To-Know Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1423—Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act 

Summary: H.R. 1423 would require government agencies to identify and describe each program they administer, the cost to administer those programs, expenditures for services, the number of program beneficiaries, and the number of federal employees and contract staff involved. Under the bill, that information would be posted on each agency’s website. H.R. 1423 would require the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to submit to the Congress an annual report that identifies duplicative federal programs. Finally, 

the Government Accountability Office (GAO) would be required to 

maintain and update a database on duplicative programs. 

Based on information from several agencies, CBO estimates that 

implementing H.R. 1423 would cost around $100 million over the 

2014–2018 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary 

amounts. Enacting the bill could affect direct spending by agencies 

not funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-you-go 

procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase 

in spending by those agencies would be negligible. Enacting H.R. 

1423 would not affect revenues. 

H.R. 1423 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 1423 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within all budget functions that include 

spending on administrative activities. 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2014– 

2018 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Estimated Authorization Level .......................................... 30 30 20 10 10 100 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................ 30 30 20 10 10 100 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill 

will be enacted near the end of 2013, that the necessary amounts 

will be appropriated each year, and that spending will follow historical patterns for federal salaries and expenses. 


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Under current law, agencies regularly produce information on 

program management, budgets, strategic plans, and annual performance. A recent amendment to the Government Performance 

and Results Act (GPRA) will require agencies to describe every program they administer. Consequently, CBO expects that some of the 

provisions in H.R. 1423 would codify or only slightly modify current 

requirements. 

However, the legislation also would require agencies to report 

the total administrative costs and the total costs of contract services associated with each federal program. Currently, the Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) lists more than 2,200 programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance or 

benefits to the public. 

H.R. 1423 would apply to the CFDA list of programs as well as 

any other government service, process, grant, contract, cooperative 

expense, compact, loan, lease, or agency guidance. In addition, the 

legislation would require OMB and executive-branch agencies to 

prepare reports that identify federal programs with duplicative 

overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds. Based 

on information from OMB and selected agencies about the costs to 

implement reporting requirements in GPRA and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, CBO estimates that assembling such information at a high level of detail would cost around 

$100 million over the 2014–2018 period. That amount includes negligible amounts for GAO to maintain a database of duplicative federal programs. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act 

of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures 

for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. Enacting H.R. 

1423 could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through 

the appropriation process, but CBO estimates that any change in 

net spending would not be significant in any year. Enacting H.R. 

1423 would not affect revenues. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1423 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA. Any costs to state and local governments would result from 

complying with conditions of assistance. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Matthew Pickford; Impact 

on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Elizabeth Cove Delisle; 

Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO ACT OF 2010 

* * * * * * * 


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TITLE II—ELIMINATION OF DUPLICATIVE AND WASTEFUL SPENDING 

SEC. 21. IDENTIFICATION, CONSOLIDATION, AND ELIMINATION OF DUPLICATIVE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS. 

(a) The Comptroller General of the Government Accountability 

Office shall conduct routine investigations to identify programs, 

agencies, offices, and initiatives with duplicative goals and activities within Departments and governmentwide and report annually 

to Congress on the findings, including the cost of such duplication 

and with recommendations for consolidation and elimination to reduce duplication identifying specific rescissions. 

(b) The Comptroller General shall maintain and provide regular 

updates, on not less than an annual basis to a publicly available 

website that tracks the status of responses by Departments and the 

Congress to suggested actions that the Comptroller General has previously identified in annual reports under subsection (a). The status 

of these suggested actions shall be tracked for an appropriate period 

to be determined by the Comptroller General. The requirements of 

this subsection shall apply during the effective period of subsection 

(a). 


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ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

H.R. 1423 includes duplicative reporting requirements that will 

place an unnecessary burden on agencies. It would require agencies 

to report a significant amount of information which would require 

substantial agency resources, but it would not authorize any additional funding to assist with agency compliance. 

The Congressional Research Service had identified multiple 

areas of potential overlap and duplication between the Taxpayers 

Right-To-Know Act and current statutory requirements. For example, although the bill would require agencies to report information 

on improper payments made by the agency, the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 already requires agencies to report 

information on their improper payments. The bill also may duplicate reporting requirements in the GPRA Modernization Act of 

2010. 

Section 5 of the bill would include in its definition of ‘‘agency’’ 

legislative branch offices other than the Government Accountability 

Office. The bill would authorize the Office of Management and 

Budget to issue implementing regulations. Therefore, the Congressional Research Service found that ‘‘the result would be to imbue 

an executive branch agency with the authority to bind, through 

regulation, the actions of a significant number of legislative entities, including, perhaps, many internal congressional offices that 

may be considered integral to the legislative process.’’ 

One improvement in H.R. 1423 would be its requirement for 

agencies to report the number of full-time positions that are paid 

through a grant or contract or the subaward of a grant or contract. 

I hope that before this bill is brought to the House floor that 

Chairmen Issa and Lankford, the sponsors of the bill, will address 

concerns raised by Minority Members of the Committee regarding 

overlap and duplication with existing law. 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS. 

Æ 


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