Murphy, Joyce Introduce new Bipartisan Bill to Cut Hundreds of Billions in Federal Spending

Press Release

U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (D-FL) and David Joyce (R-OH) announced the introduction of the Savings, Accountability, Value, and Efficiency Act (SAVE), bipartisan legislation to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending by eliminating duplication and waste, and by increasing efficiency. This bill implements several common-sense solutions outlined by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to cut spending by up to $200 billion over 10 years. Joining Murphy and Joyce in introducing the SAVE Act were Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA), Tom Rice (R-SC), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). (Please find attached a copy of this legislation).

"Our current debt is almost $17 trillion and our current deficit is almost $1 trillion annually. We must rein in our government spending, but we must do so in a strategic way -- cutting programs that are wasteful, duplicative, or ineffective, while streamlining ongoing programs and continuing to invest in key areas like infrastructure and education," said Rep. Murphy. "My bill does just that, cutting up to $200 billion in government spending over the next ten years. This would be done by eliminating programs like the USDA's duplicative catfish inspection program, reclaiming billions of unused dollars in Department of Energy accounts, pushing federal agencies to compete hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts like the private sector, and moving the executive branch to dispose of hundreds of excess or underutilized buildings. By working together to find common-sense solutions, we have found hundreds of billions of dollars in smart savings."

"I'm pleased to be part of this bipartisan effort to rein in Washington waste and make our government leaner and more efficient," said Rep. Joyce. "By eliminating duplication and waste, this bill will save U.S. taxpayers $200 billion over ten years. When Washington tightens its belt, Ohio families have more room to breathe."

The SAVE Act finds savings through the following measures:

Requiring the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to align its fee structure with inspection costs to eliminate overruns;

Eliminating a duplicative catfish inspection program within the USDA;

Consolidating data centers across federal agencies to allow for cost savings and increased efficiency;

Strengthening oversight of federal agencies' major information technology investments;

Improving the ability of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to find and eliminate fraud through better data collection and analysis;

Improving best practices in federal agency contract competition to reduce the number of noncompetitive contracts and to reduce expenses;

Promoting strategic sourcing across federal agencies, leveraging massive federal buying power to lower prices;
Improving management and utilization of the government's 400,000 buildings to reduce expenses on excess or underutilized space;

Requiring the White House to identify and eliminate duplicative programs across the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce emissions from older diesel engines; and

Clarifying the authority of the Department of Energy to sell excess depleted uranium under certain restrictions.

Representative Patrick E. Murphy represents the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches in Congress. He serves on the Financial Services Committee, Small Business Committee, and as Ranking Member of the Agriculture, Energy, and Trade Subcommittee. Additionally, he is the co-founder and co-chairman of the bipartisan United Solutions Caucus as well as a co-chair of the No Labels' Problem Solvers Group.

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