Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I will get this done in less than 5 minutes. As has been pointed out, anybody around here a while knows that frequently when a bill passes we include requirements that an agency provide reports.

Another way for a Congressman to pass a bill is just to pass a freestanding bill that requires another report. Obviously, these reports aren't cheap. There is a great deal of hours spent as the agencies compile the reports. It is time to have a look at these reports and see how many are necessary and how many we can do away with.

The President's most recent budget request identified 53 reports that were outdated or duplicative. Some examples: Department of Commerce report on business licensing activities in Iraq. This report was signed into law in 2003 during the start of the Iraq war. As our presence there diminished, the need for regular reporting on Iraq-bound business licenses has outlived its uselessness.

There is the Department of Labor report on a community college and career training grant. This is another report that is outdated. The authorization of the appropriations has expired, and no funds have been appropriated for this program since 2014; nevertheless, the requirement for the report lives on.

There is the annual FTC report on the market concentration of the ethanol industry. The FTC has submitted the report every year since 2005, but each and every year the ethanol market has not been overly concentrated, entry into the market is easy, and the present circumstances do not justify a presumption that a single ethanol producer could set prices. In other words, the usefulness of the report is no longer in existence.

The Eliminate Useless Reports Act simply requires each agency to identify and recommend eliminating, modifying, or reducing the frequency of duplicative reports. Recommendations from agencies will be considered by the relevant committees so they can take appropriate legislative steps.

This bill would increase the efficiency of identifying outdated or duplicative reports.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to co-lead the House version in a nice bipartisan effort with my Oversight Subcommittee colleague, Congressman Robert Garcia from California.

I am also thankful for the bipartisan Senate cosponsors to this bill, Senators Ossoff and Lankford.

I urge adoption of Senate bill S. 2073, an important bipartisan step toward improving the efficiency of the Federal Government.

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