[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 20, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S6526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INHOFE:
  S. 1073. A bill to establish a National Commission to Eliminate Waste 
in Government; to the Committee on Government Affairs.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, today I rise to bring attention to an 
issue that affects all Americans, government waste. As we all know, the 
Federal Government is infamous for its profligate programs and 
approaches to problem solving. In the last decade, we have seen 
inefficiency of mammoth proportions within the government.
  As a result, I have introduced legislation that would establish a 
national commission to eliminate government waste. This act would 
resurrect President Reagan's work to find an equitable way to enact 
fiscal responsibility and accountability within the government. During 
the Reagan Administration, a private sector study of government was 
commissioned to dispose of Federal waste, mismanagement, and abuse. Led 
by industrialist J. Peter Grace, the Grace Commission produced 47 
reports with 2,478 recommendations. As a result of this study, 
President Reagan issued executive orders that saved the Federal 
Government more than $110 billion.
  Today, many Federal agencies still use cumbersome bureaucratic 
procedures. The National Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government 
Act would establish a commission to conduct a private sector survey on 
management and cost control within the government. It would also 
provide an opportunity for the commission to review existing reports on 
government waste. Because the commission would be funded, staffed, and 
equipped by the private sector, it would not cost the government one 
dime.
  I urge my colleagues to support this end to government waste and the 
beginning of discipline and efficiency within our government.
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