Hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. McCaskill, Hearing on Business Meeting

Hearing

Good morning. I want to first formally welcome our newest member to the Committee, Senator Doug Jones.

The eight bills on today's agenda aim to fix laws, regulations, or other policies that just don't work for the American people. The Federal Government is often quick to legislate a new program or promulgate a new regulation to try and address a problem. Unfortunately, too little attention is paid after the fact to determine whether the programs or regulations are effective. As the oversight body over the Executive Branch, the Committee is charged with "studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all agencies and departments of the Government." It is our job to identify failing programs and find ways that we can more effectively use taxpayers' dollars.

A great example of a failing program is the Multi-State Plan Program (MSP) at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM's mission is to "recruit, retain, and honor a world-class workforce." For nearly 40 years, OPM's mission has been exclusively focused on serving the needs of the Federal workforce. Yet in 2010, Congress diverted OPM from its mission by requiring it to contract with insurance companies to provide health care for Americans who do not work for the government. Federal law requires each state to have at least two MSP plans. Nearly eight years later, the program has utterly failed: only one state is participating. The reality is that states, issuers, and enrollees have widely rejected participating in the program. Despite OPM's best efforts, the program has not created the competition its supporters claimed it would. The Repeal Insurance Plans of the Multi-State Program Act will focus OPM back on its core mission of serving the Federal workforce, and will more efficiently use taxpayer resources.

The Guidance Out of Darkness Act will help businesses and industry groups navigate the United States' $2 trillion regulatory burden. Federal agencies have increasingly used regulatory guidance as a way to create de facto regulations, with little regard paid to how difficult it is for businesses and industry groups to monitor and comply with. This common sense bill will lift the veil of secrecy by requiring Federal agencies to post regulatory guidance documents in a centralized public location.

Another bill on the agenda aims to harmonize the efforts of ten different Federal programs so that Congress and the American public can receive more accurate information about sexual violence in America. Still another repeals three reports that Congress mandated the Government Accountability Office undertake that are now longer necessary, freeing up a total of 8,600 annual employee work hours.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to focus on these areas of agreement to make government work better for the American people.

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