Date: 2007-10-03
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. this motion to recommit would require all agency Inspectors General to report annually to Congress and to the President whether the IG believes an abolishment. reorganization. consolidation or transfer of existing Federal programs and agencies is necessary to reduce Federal expenditures. increase efficiency of government operations. eliminate overlap and duplication in Federal programs and offices. abolish agencies or programs which no longer serve an important governmental purpose. or identify reductions in amounts of discretionary budget authority or direct spending which can be dedicated to Federal deficit reduction. The IGs would be required to accompany those reports with proposed legislation in order to encourage Congress to act on those recommendations. This legislation is borne out of frustration. How many more times are we going to hear about redundancy in Federal programs without doing anything about it? We have the IGs. We have made them more independent as a result of this. Lets utilize that expertise for suggestions in how we can -reduce waste. fraud and abuse in government. How many more times are we going to have to hear about the 70 programs located throughout 13 Federal agencies providing substance abuse prevention services for our youth? The over 90 early childhood programs scattered among 11 Federal agencies and 20 offices? The 40 different programs in the Federal Government having job training as their main purpose? The 86 teacher training programs in nine Federal agencies? The 50 different Federal homeless assistance programs administered by eight different agencies? The more than 17 Federal agencies monitoring and enforcing over 400 U.S. trade agreements? The 17 Federal Departments and agencies operating a total of 515 Federal research and development laboratories? Or the eight different Federal agencies administering 17 different programs just in the area of rural water and wastewater systems. each with its own set of regulations? After all. the primary reason all these Federal programs exist in the first place is because Congress has this bad habit of haphazardly establishing new programs to achieve shortterm solutions whenever a problem arises. In fact. Paul Volcker. Donna Shalala and Frank Carlucci all testified before our committee in 2003 about a National Commission on Public Service report that they had recently released. The report concluded that. over the years. the ad hoc layering of agencies. Departments. and programs greatly complicated management. expanded the influence of powerful interests and diminished coherent policy direction. The Federal Government today is a layered jumble of organizations with muddled public missions. Congress is as much to blame for this problem as anyone else. Admitting we have a problem is the first step in recovery. I am here to help our colleagues understand we have a problem. The extent of overlap and duplication in government is an issue the Committee on Government Reform has spent years investigating. Our hearings have focused on a range of Federal program areas. from child welfare programs to intelligence operations to Federal food safety oversight. This motion to report forthwith. so it doesnt kill the bill. it reports right back. would provide a tool which could assist the Congress and the President in identifying ways to streamline government operations and make them as efficient and effective as possible. The motion to recommit should appeal to all Members who believe there are inefficiencies in the Federal Government requiring attention. All after. Congress never has and never will be a management body. We need the assistance. and this legislation does it. of independent. outside observers to tell us what programs we created years ago are not an efficient or effective use of taxpayer funds. We have given the Inspectors General here authority and independence to call the balls and strikes and to make government more efficient. Lets utilize that. Lets help us make government more efficient. Lets support the motion to recommit. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.