Legislation to Eliminate Government Waste Advocated by Platts Passes Both U.S. House and Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation this week designed to give Congress and the American people the tools to better evaluate the effectiveness of federal government programs – the Government Efficiency, Effectiveness and Performance Improvement Act of 2010.  The legislation (H.R. 2142) was sponsored by U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) and U.S. Congressman Todd Platts (R-PA-19) and was adopted by a vote of 216 to 139.  H.R. 2142 unanimously passed the U.S. Senate on December 16 and is expected to be signed into law by President Barack Obama.

“At a time when the national debt is over $13 trillion, it has never been more apparent that the federal government must spend taxpayer dollars wisely,” said Congressman Platts. “One of the reasons we find ourselves in such substantial debt today is that federal programs never end.  Such programs must be monitored to ensure that our investments are presenting clear results and those programs that are not performing effectively must be reformed or eliminated.” 

A previous version of H.R. 2142 passed the U.S. House of Representatives on June 16, 2010 but was amended by the U.S. Senate, which necessitated a House vote on the modified bill.  H.R. 2142 is a variation of legislation that Congressman Platts introduced in the 108th Congress (H.R. 3826) and the 109th Congress (H.R. 185), and requires that all federal agencies work with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to clearly identify outcome-based goals for their programs and then submit an action plan to achieve those goals.  Agencies would be required to conduct regular performance assessments outlining how effectively they are working to meet their stated objectives.  These performance assessments would be made publicly available and federal agencies would be required to consider input from Congress and the American people. 

Additionally, H.R. 2142 calls on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to perform frequent and detailed evaluations outlining how effective federal agencies have been in achieving these standards.  GAO would also assess whether the federal programs in question are providing direct value to taxpayers. 

Congressman Platts’ leadership in promoting a more accountable and results-oriented government stem from his service as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance, and Accountability during the 107th and 108th sessions of Congress.  During Congressman Platts’ tenure, the subcommittee shed light on numerous government inefficiencies - such as overpayments for services, accounting errors and under-performing programs - that spent taxpayer funds in a wasteful manner.