Newsletter - Reducing Government Waste

Statement

Sequestration offered Washington a real chance to reduce wasteful spending within the Federal government. Instead, the Obama Administration took advantage of the situation for political gain.

Think about the Department of Defense's attempt to reduce tuition assistance for the brave men and women who serve our nation in the Armed Forces; or the White House indefinitely cancelling all White House tours during one of the busiest annual tourist times in our nation's capital; or the Federal Aviation Administration furloughing 15,000 air traffic controllers, leading to thousands of disrupted flights. They were all designed to agitate public opinion, not solve our fiscal problems.

Rather than looking to cut areas that will cause a public uproar, we should stop playing politics and reduce the real waste in government. That's why I have introduced the Improving All Government Efficiency (IMAGE) Act, to eliminate duplicative and inefficient Federal programs identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- Congress's government watchdog -- in its three recent annual reports. At this point, only 65 of 380 actions have been fully addressed.

The IMAGE Act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with the heads of Federal agencies to implement GAO's suggested actions. At the end of the fiscal year, if the suggested actions are not taken, the bill issues a 1% cut to the budget of all Federal agencies that do not comply.

The bottom line is, the Federal government has a serious spending problem which has led to an unsustainable level of debt. Our government must search across all areas of the budget in an effort to find and eliminate waste. I believe that my legislation is a strong step in the right direction.

Sincerely,
Sam Graves Signature
Sam Graves

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