Today, Senators Scott Brown (R-MA), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined together to introduce legislation that would give the government the tools it needs to increase transparency and Congressional oversight of litigation that could result in substantial financial exposure to taxpayers.
The bill ensures Congressional and Executive branch accountability by providing Congress with precise details on all civil lawsuits filed against the government. This transparency will also ensure that Congress is spending litigation money in more efficient ways, protecting the taxpayers. Congress will have a greater ability to identify problems in existing federal laws which will also prevent future unwarranted lawsuits.
"I'm proud to introduce this common sense legislation with my Senate colleagues that will improve our oversight capabilities and protect taxpayer dollars," said Brown. "Right now, basic information regarding the types of litigation and settlements before the federal government is lacking, making it difficult to identify inefficiencies in our law and or regulations that could unnecessarily expose agencies and our government to lawsuits. The Judgment Fund is a "permanent, indefinite appropriation'---and it just makes good sense that Congress should shine some sunlight on how taxpayer dollars are being used."
"Taxpayers deserve to know exactly where their money is going, and this common sense bill will help," said Tester. "This bill provides transparency and accountability that's currently lacking when it comes to government settlements."
"This Act is about restoring responsibility, transparency and accountability to government," said Barrasso. "Americans deserve an accurate accounting of how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent. Court settlements and attorney fees involving federal statutes, are paid out of the Judgment Fund. It's time to pull back the curtain on the Judgment Fund to determine the scale and scope of lawsuits against the federal government."
"Every year, the U.S. taxpayers pay, on average, $1 billion as a result of lawsuits against the federal government. Despite this enormous cost, Congress has almost no visibility into the nature and causes of much of this litigation. The lack of simple transparency deprives us of an important oversight tool to protect against waste and mismanagement in federal agencies that could be corrected if we shine some light onto these cases," said Collins.