I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3479 

To eliminate duplicative Government programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2009 

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To eliminate duplicative Government programs, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scrapping 

5 Unsustainable Redundant Programs Leaves Us Solvent 

6 Act of 2009’’ or the ‘‘SURPLUS Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are to— 

9 (1) reduce America’s debt, now more than 

10 $11,000,000,000,000 dollars; 


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1 (2) eliminate duplicative Government programs, 

2 streamlining the way Government operates; 

3 (3) secure, for effective programs, the necessary 

4 resources; and 

5 (4) reduce the overall size of the Federal Gov6 ernment. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Com11 merce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

12 Education, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security, the Secretary of Housing and 

15 Urban Development, the Secretary of the Interior, 

16 the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of State, the 

17 Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of the 

18 Treasury, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 

19 Attorney General, and the Administrator of the En20 vironmental Protection Agency. 

21 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

22 any program or initiative housed within a depart23 ment or agency headed by a Secretary (as defined 

24 in paragraph (1)). 


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1 SEC. 4. STUDY OF EXISTING FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) STUDY.—Each Secretary shall conduct a study 

3 to determine if any Federal program within the depart4 ment or agency concerned is duplicative of one or more 

5 other Federal programs under the authority of the depart6 ment or agency as of the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, each Secretary shall 

10 submit to Congress and make available to the public a re11 port that contains the results of the study required under 

12 subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF DUPLICATIVE PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENT TO TERMINATE DUPLICATIVE

15 PROGRAMS.—Except as provided in subsection (b), if a 

16 Secretary determines under section 4(a) that any program 

17 is duplicative of one or more other Federal programs with18 in the department or agency concerned, the Secretary 

19 shall, to the maximum extent appropriate, terminate the 

20 duplicative Federal program, or consolidate the program 

21 with other programs performing similar functions, not 

22 later than 180 days after the date of the submission of 

23 the report under section 4(b). 

24 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

25 any program that is required or authorized by statute. 


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1 (c) DUPLICATIVE PROGRAM.—For purposes of this 

2 section, a program shall be considered duplicative of an3 other program if— 

4 (1) in the case of a grant program, the Sec5 retary concerned determines that the purpose of the 

6 program is to benefit a specific group of persons 

7 that is identical to or substantially similar to a 

8 group of persons that is eligible for another grant 

9 program; and 

10 (2) in the case of any other program, the Sec11 retary concerned determines that the program is 

12 performing the same essential function as another 

13 program. 

Æ 


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