Chairman Johnson Introduces BADGER Washington Act

Statement

On Thursday Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced the Bolster Accountability to Drive Government Efficiency and Reform Washington Act, a government reform package that includes 19 bills that have already been approved by voice vote or unanimous roll call vote in his committee this Congress.

The bill includes reforms to strengthen inspectors general, curb improper payments and improve anti-fraud controls, expedite the disposal of unneeded federal property, improve government transparency, rein in the use of federal paid administrative leave, and enhance whistleblower protections.

Johnson had this to say regarding the BADGER Washington Act:

"I want to ensure that all the important work this committee has done to reduce wasteful spending and to make the federal government more efficient and effective for the American people does not fall by the wayside. We may disagree on the proper size of the federal government, but we all agree that what government we have must be more efficient, effective and accountable," said Johnson. "Going back to the great oversight and legislative work that Senator Tom Carper and former Senator Tom Coburn did on this committee last congress, the members of our committee have been working for years to try to pass some of these reforms, only to be blocked by the undisclosed concerns of one or two dissenters. It's time these bipartisan, commonsense proposals get a public discussion and a vote. I am confident that if that happens, we can get these reforms to the president's desk. It's time to badger Washington into real reforms that work for the American people."

The committee has approved 82 pieces of legislation on a bipartisan basis. Twenty-six of those have become law, and another seven have passed the Senate. However, several of the remaining commonsense reforms will likely not reach unanimous approval from the full Senate because they have been objected to -- often in secret and without explanation -- by one or two members.

At a hearing on April 27 examining waste and duplication within the federal government, Johnson noted that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has committed to full Senate consideration of the bill. Coburn, a physician who retired from the Senate last year after a career distinguished by his focus on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, testified at the hearing. He pointed out that many of the reforms in the package are ones that he championed with Carper when he was ranking member of the committee. Coburn encouraged the members of the committee to "carry forward the tradition of bipartisanship and work to get the bills approved by the committee across the finish line this year."

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