Sen. Cornyn Announces Bill To Create Federal Sunset Commission Based On Successful Texas Model

Press Release

Sen. Cornyn Announces Bill To Create Federal Sunset Commission Based On Successful Texas Model

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today introduced legislation to create a Federal Sunset Commission based on the successful Texas model. The United States Authorization and Sunset Commission Act of 2009 would create an eight-member bipartisan Commission, including four U.S. Senators and four U.S. Representatives, who will examine the effectiveness and efficiency of federal programs and agencies. The Commission would make recommendations on whether these programs require reform or should be eliminated all together.

"The back rooms of Washington need a healthy dose of Texas sunshine in order to shed light on how taxpayer dollars are being spent. Since the beginning of this year, Congress has passed a series of misguided and record-setting spending bills that put hard-working taxpayers and future generations on the hook for trillions of dollars.

"The President has said several times that he intends to go through the federal budget line-by-line—ending programs that we do not need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less. This bipartisan commission would do just that. Establishing a Federal Sunset Commission would send a loud and clear message to the American people that President Obama and Congress are serious about reforming reckless Washington spending habits."

The United States Authorization and Sunset Commission Act of 2009 is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chambliss, Ensign, Hutchison, and Voinovich.

Since the state's Sunset Advisory Commission's inception in 1977, its efforts have led to the elimination of dozens of agencies that have outlived their usefulness and have saved Texas taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

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