Washington — Sens. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, and Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, unveiled bills Tuesday aimed at cutting waste and eliminating duplicate federal programs from the $2 trillion annual U.S. budget.
One proposal, called the COST Savings Resolution, would require congressional committees to hold oversight hearings on the Government Accountability Office’s annual report on ways to reduce overlap and duplication in the federal government.
The bill directs Congress to take into account “recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of government programs and eliminate unnecessary costs caused by duplicative federal programs, as well as vulnerabilities for waste, fraud, and abuse and the need for transformation of government programs.”
The other proposal, called the Expedited Consideration of Cuts, Consolidations and Savings Act of 2015, would require Congress to vote on deficit reduction recommendations from the Cuts, Consolidations and Savings report — part of the president’s annual budget that includes recommendations to reduce the deficit.