[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 138 (Saturday, October 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM EVALUATION COMMISSION ACT

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                            HON. BILL ARCHER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 27, 2000

  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, ``We know from past experience how difficult 
it is to curb the momentum of expanding government activity and we know 
that this portends the continuation of levels of taxation higher than 
we all want to bear. We are trying to get this message across: we want 
to pause in this headlong rush toward even bigger government.''--Wilbur 
Mills
  The former statement made 32 years ago by my predecessor in the Ways 
and Means Committee, Chairman Wilbur Mills, continues to hold as much 
truth today as it ever did in 1969. Our federal surplus, and ensuing 
spending frenzy, have created an even greater urgency that we recognize 
the importance of a restrained and focused government.
  Bloated federal agencies have increasingly taken more American 
taxpayer dollars and spent those dollars not wisely, but wastefully. 
Despite the good intentions of the Government Performance and Results 
Act of 1993, misuse of taxpayers' money climbs ahead at an alarming 
pace. The Results Act was intended to help Congress in its oversight 
obligations by requiring federal agencies to set goals and use 
performance measures for management and budgeting.
  Now, even the budget process is careening out of control. The annual 
congressional budget resolution has all but been cast aside. Congress 
spends with abandon. Not only is the surplus at risk, the entire 
process is at risk. On the other side of the coin, waste, fraud, and 
abuse in the federal government has never been greater. Recently, the 
Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology 
found that $65 billion has been wasted by the federal agencies of the 
executive branch, not to mention $245 billion in overdue taxes owed to 
Washington. A recent IRS report showed an estimated $7.8 billion in 
Earned Income Tax Credit claims for 1997 were erroneously paid.
  It is for that reason I am reintroducing a bill put forth by my able 
predecessor, Chairman Wilbur Mills, which seeks to establish the 
Government Program Evaluation Commission. Such a Commission would be 
created on a bipartisan basis and composed of members from the private 
sector. The Commission would study and evaluate existing federal 
programs and activities for the purpose of determining three 
objectives: (1) To evaluate the effectiveness of each program or 
activity, relative to its costs; (2) to determine whether the program 
or activity should continue and at what level; and (3) to assign a 
relative priority level for the purpose of allocating Federal funds.
  The Results Act has not met expectations partly because its task of 
self-analysis has effectively kept its potential low. The Government 
Program Evaluation Commission is unique in that it would create a truly 
independent commission on the outside looking in. I am introducing this 
bill at this late stage to highlight my concern in hopes that Congress 
will readdress this urgent problem in the future. A government with the 
most brilliant laws cannot be successful if it mismanages those laws. 
Chairman Mills' vision of a limited but highly effective government is 
a legacy I would like to impress upon my fellow Members as this 
Congress wraps up its business.

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