Walberg bill to increase transparency in federal spending passes the House

Press Release

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, legislation authored by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Jim Cooper (D-TN) to provide the American people with a better understanding of how their tax dollars are spent. The bipartisan bill was included as a provision to the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 6395 -- Mac Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act, which passed by a 335-78-1 vote.

"The amount of wasteful spending black holes across the federal government are endless. That's why we need to shine a light on and streamline these duplicative programs," said Rep. Walberg. "Our bipartisan bill establishes a transparent accounting system so federal agencies can be a better steward of taxpayer dollars. Rep. Cooper and I have collaborated on this bipartisan effort for several years, and I'm pleased it has passed the House as part of this defense legislation."

"This is a commonsense bill that both the House and Senate should have agreed to years ago. But hope springs eternal and I'm glad the fifth time is the charm," Rep. Cooper said. "We've got to take steps to spend money where it's needed most. In a pandemic, with record unemployment, we need to know where funds are going -- and what should be redirected."

The Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act will require the Office of Management and Budget to publish online an inventory of each agency's federal programs, and provide a description of the program as well as identify information about the program's performance and costs.

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