FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 25, 2014
Contact: Sarah Feldman (print) or Anamarie Rebori (broadcast) – 202-228-6263
Homeland Security Committee Makes First Move Toward McCaskill Goal of Eliminating Useless Government Reports
Panel approves bipartisan, McCaskill-backed bill to slash dozens of reports ‘nobody needs or reads’
WASHINGTON – The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today made the first move toward a goal of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill—to better protect taxpayer dollars from waste by eliminating unnecessary reports compiled by federal government agencies.
McCaskill is a cosponsor of bipartisan legislation with Senators Mark Warner of Virginia and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire to eliminate hundreds of such unnecessary reports. In December 2012, the Office of Management and Budget published a list of 376 Congressionally mandated reports identified as outdated, duplicative, or serving little use.
Today, the Senate panel approved a U.S. House version of the bipartisan, McCaskill-backed bill, which she said represents a “down payment” toward the goal of eliminating unnecessary reports.
“I think Americans would gain a little more confidence that their tax dollars are being spent wisely if we put an end to printing lengthy reports that nobody needs or reads,” said McCaskill, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight.
McCaskill also recently joined Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to introduce the Let Me Google That For You Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill to eliminate an outdated federal agency that compiles and sells government reports, most of which are available for free online. With a money-losing profit model, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) attempts to sell government reports to other federal agencies and the public, a once-important service that has now been supplanted by the Internet.
The legislation approved by the Committee today would eliminate the following federal reports:
- Information on Administrative Expenses on Commodity Promotion Programs (Department of Agriculture)
- Unfair Trade Practices Report and the Related Meeting (Department of Agriculture)
- Farmland Protection Policy Act Annual Report (Department of Agriculture)
- Peanut Base Acres Data Collection and Publication (Department of Agriculture)
- Other Base Acres Data Collection and Publication (Department of Agriculture)
- Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts Pilot Program Report (Department of Agriculture)
- Rural Broadband Access Program Report (Department of Agriculture)
- Report on Export Credit Guarantees to Emerging Markets (Department of Agriculture)
- Commodity Credit Corporation Quarterly Report (Department of Agriculture)
- Evaluation of the Rural Development, Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program Financing of Locally or Regionally Produced Food Products (Department of Agriculture)
- United States Grain Standards Act Report (Department of Agriculture)
- Notifications to Congress on Release of Names and Addresses of Producers Operating Under Marketing Agreements and Orders (Department of Agriculture)
- Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Action Plans Reports (Department of Agriculture)
- Quarterly Export Assistance Reports (Department of Agriculture)
- Rural Collaborative Investment Program (Department of Agriculture)
- Secretarial Report on Regional Rural Investment Boards (Department of Agriculture)
- Report by Regional Rural Investment Board to National Rural Investment Board and the Secretary (Department of Agriculture)
- Status Report for Foreign Market Development (Department of Agriculture)
- Southeastern Alaska Timber Reports (Department of Agriculture)
- Efforts and Progress in Becoming Designated as a Sea Grant College or Institute (Department of Commerce)
- Enterprise Integration Standardization and Implementation (Department of Commerce)
- Ensuring Equal Access to Sea Grant Fellowship Program (Department of Commerce)
- Technology Innovation Program Activities (Department of Commerce)
- TIP Advisory Board Annual Report (Department of Commerce)
- Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Activities (Department of Commerce)
- Reports by Other Federal Agencies to the Corporation (Corporation for National and Community Service)
- Service-Learning Impact Study (Corporation for National and Community Service)
- Display of Annual Budget Requirements for Air Sovereignty Alert Mission (Department of Defense)
- Annual Report on Reliability of Department of Defense Financial Statements (Department of Defense)
- Impact Aid Construction Justifying Discretionary Grant Awards (Department of Education)
- Science and Engineering Education Pilot Program (Department of Energy)
- Strategic Unconventional Fuels Development Program (Department of Energy)
- Energy Efficiency Standards for Industrial Equipment (Department of Energy)
- Great Lakes Management Comprehensive Report (Environmental Protection Agency)
- Report Relating to Waiver of Certain Sanctions against North Korea (Executive Office of the President)
- Expenditures of Local Educational Agencies (Government Accountability Office)
- Use of Recovery Act Funds by States and Localities Report (Government Accountability Office)
- State Small Business Credit Initiative Audit and Report (Government Accountability Office)
- Help America Vote Act Funds Audit (Government Accountability Office)
- Small Business Lending Fund Program Audit and Report (Government Accountability Office)
- Housing Assistance Council Financial Statement Audit Report (Government Accountability Office)
- Prohibition on Importation of Products Made With Dog or Cat Fur (Department of Homeland Security)
- Port of Entry Infrastructure Assessment Study and National Land Border Security Plan (Department of Homeland Security)
- Fees for Certain Customs Services (Department of Homeland Security)
- Modernization of the National Distress and Response System (Department of Homeland Security)
- Royalties In-Kind Report (Department of the Interior)
- Older Americans Act (Department of Labor)
- Andean Trade Preference Act (Department of Labor)
- Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (Office of the Director of National Intelligence)
- Reports on Commerce With, and Assistance to, Cuba from Other Foreign Countries (Office of the Director of National Intelligence)
- Report on Progress Toward Regional Non-Proliferation in South Asia (Department of State)
- Reports of the Air Traffic Services Committee (Department of Transportation)
- Annual Summaries of Airport Financial Reports (Department of Transportation)
- Annual Report on Pipeline Safety Information Grants to Communities (Department of Transportation)
- Annual Report on Pilot Program for Innovative Financing of Air Traffic Control Equipment (Department of Transportation)
- Reports on Justifications for Air Defense Identification Zones (Department of Transportation)
- Annual Report on Standards for Aircraft and Aircraft Engines to Reduce Noise Levels (Department of Transportation)
Click HERE to read highlights of McCaskill’s fight for stronger accountability in Washington.
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