WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is introducing legislation today that would require federal agencies to send reports and similar materials to congressional offices only by email or other electronic means, without redundant paper copies. Agencies frequently send paper copies of many items to Congress, which are rarely read, and require associated printing, delivery, security screening, and processing costs.
“It’s 2018 for crying out loud, just email this stuff and quit wasting money,” McCaskill said. “Saving taxpayers money isn’t just about finding billions wasted on big, expensive things—it’s also about eliminating small, needless expenditures with low-hanging fruit like this.”
The Modernizing Congressional Reporting Act also requires searchable text, and spreadsheets or other appropriate formats for any structured data contained, which will help Congress efficiently conduct federal oversight. It is being introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators including Tom Carper (D-Del.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Doug Jones (D-AL), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
McCaskill has been a leading voice in Missouri and Washington for cutting wasteful government spending, and she has repeatedly held agencies accountable for contracts rife with waste, fraud, and abuse. She recently introduced bipartisan legislation designed to cut down on improper payments made by the federal government— including overpayments, underpayments, or payments made to ineligible recipients or payments that were not properly documented.
Read a copy of McCaskill’s legislation online HERE.
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