Introducing the Government Waste Reduction Act

Floor Speech

Mrs. BUSTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise to talk about the first piece of legislation I am introducing as a Member of Congress.

Like many people across Illinois, I learned at a young age that balancing the family pocketbook and living within our means is a question of values. I want to work together on commonsense solutions that reduce the deficit while preserving the important services on which so many people rely.

The bill I'm introducing today does just that. It is called the Government Waste Reduction Act. This bill moves forward on recommendations the Government Accountability Office made that would reduce duplication in government, save taxpayer money, enhance revenue, and root out waste.

It establishes the independent Government Waste Reduction Board, tasked with recommending legislative proposals that implement these cost-cutting measures and sending them to Congress.

For example, the Federal Government has 47 job training programs, 44 of which overlap. Simply consolidating programs that overlap can save tens of billions of dollars, while not impacting program quality.

Commonsense proposals to cut waste out of government already exist, but they are meaningless and save nothing unless we implement them. My bill will serve as a starting point to lower our deficits by tens of billions of dollars in a responsible, commonsense way that protects the middle class.

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