February 8, 2012

U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator,

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will soon introduce the Cost Savings Enhancements Act of 2012. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support this legislation.

Under current law, agencies are required to spend all appropriated funds, even if they do not have a specific need. This results in agencies rushing to spend funds before the end of each fiscal year, often on unneeded items.

The Cost Savings Enhancements Act would help to cut excess waste and encourage agencies to put unused funds toward deficit reduction by building upon existing federal employee cost savings suggestion programs. Under current law, an agency can reward employees whose suggested cost savings in the areas of waste, fraud, and mismanagement are enacted. The bill would expand these reward programs to include the categories of budget authority and surplus funds.

Rewards would be capped at one percent of the savings realized, with a maximum payout of $10,000. The IG would then refer the information to the agency’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to determine if the rescission of the funds would hinder the agency’s effectiveness. If the agency’s CFO deems the funds are unneeded, the head of the agency would return these funds to the Treasury for deficit reduction.

The federal government should remove the statutory boundaries that force agencies to spend money that they do not need. I urge you to support this legislation and the implementation of a common-sense framework to promote efficient and effective government spending. All votes on the Cost Savings Enhancements Act will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2012 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW