Ayotte Helps Reintroduce Taxpayers Right To Know Act
Press Release
U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) this week joined Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and a bipartisan group of Senators in reintroducing the Taxpayers Right To Know Act, a bill that would provide Americans with a better understanding of how their tax dollars are spent. The bill would increase transparency regarding the details, costs, and performance metrics of every federal program.
"Americans deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and this commonsense measure would shine a bright light on how funds are spent and encourage performance-based reviews of federal programs," said Ayotte. "With our nation over $18 trillion in debt, it's unacceptable that Washington keeps wasting billions on programs that don't work, and this bill would support efforts to eliminate duplicative and underperforming programs."
Specifically, this bill would create a central database for financial data and performance metrics for every federal program, requiring every federal agency to provide taxpayers an annual report card for all of its programs. Under current federal law, the Office of Management and Budget is required to post an inventory of all federal programs on a centralized website. This legislation builds upon this requirement, and directs the OMB to post:
* More detailed financial information for each program;
* An estimate of the number of full-time equivalents who administer each program;
* An estimate of the number of beneficiaries who receive assistance from each program;
* Links to the latest performance reviews for the program, including the metrics used to review the program;
* The total amount of unspent and unobligated grant funds held by agencies held after the grant's expiration; and
* A list of the specific statute that authorizes each program and any related regulations.
Senator Ayotte cosponsored similar legislation last Congress. She is also cosponsoring the Duplication Elimination Act, which aims to save billions of taxpayer dollars by requiring Congress and the Administration to implement recommendations outlined in the Government Accountability Office's Annual Report on Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication.
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