[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5640-S5641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



   No Budget No Recess Act and End-of-Year Fiscal Responsibility Act

  Mr. President, `tis the season in Washington. Government agencies are 
going on their ``Christmas in September, use-it-or-lose-it'' shopping 
spree. If not spent by midnight on September 30, leftover dollars 
expire and can no longer be used.
  Rather than returning the money to taxpayers, binge-buying 
bureaucrats are wasting billions of taxpayer dollars needlessly. 
Frankly, folks, this is Washington's most notorious tradition at the 
end of our fiscal year.
  Let me tell you, folks, Iowans and hard-working folks across the 
country really should be appalled by many of the last-minute purchases 
our tax dollars are paying for. I will just give you some examples.
  There was $4.6 million spent on lobster tail and crab; $2.1 million 
spent on games, toys, and wheeled goods; over $53,000 on china and 
tableware; more than $40,000 on clocks; and nearly $12,000 for a 
commercial foosball table. Yes, that is right, folks, a commercial 
foosball table, 12,000 of your dollars.
  What are we, as Congress, doing about this wasteful spending? Nada, 
nothing. Congress is sitting idly by, letting Washington bureaucrats 
waste the hard-earned dollars of folks in my home State of Iowa.
  Failing to pass the bills necessary to fund the government on time 
makes it difficult for agencies to thoughtfully plan and allocate 
billions of dollars. That is why I fought hard to make sure Congress 
completes its job of appropriating and budgeting on time.
  Through my No Budget No Recess Act, Members of Congress would be 
prohibited from leaving Washington if we fail to pass a budget by April 
15 or if we fail to approve regular spending bills by August 1.
  The way we are doing business is incentivizing Federal agencies to 
rush and spend the rest of their money as quickly as possible, and it 
makes it all the more likely that they will waste money on unnecessary 
goods and services.
  As Iowa taxpayers know, it is never smart to rush into a big 
purchase. Unfortunately, it seems Washington bureaucrats don't agree, 
especially when it is the tax dollars of hard-working Americans that 
they are dealing with.
  Washington's spending disorder gets more expensive every year. The 
$97 billion rung up in September 2018 is 15 percent more than was spent 
the same month the previous year and a staggering 39 percent more than 
that time in 2015. But if the Federal agencies followed the President's 
directive to trim their budgets by 5 percent, an easy place to start is 
simply by cutting the dollars they have been unable to spend.
  Federal agencies end every year with leftover money in their budgets. 
This year, it is estimated the government will end up with more than 
$825 billion in unspent funds that have not been committed by contract 
or otherwise obligated to be spent. Last year's $804 billion budget 
deficit could have been wiped out and turned into a surplus if the 
unobligated balance being held in the Federal coffers had been 
canceled.

[[Page S5641]]

Instead, Federal agencies ordered lobster tail and tons of--get this--
tater tots--tons of tater tots, as Washington amassed its largest 
shortfall since 2012.
  Folks, we have to put an end to this madness. Seriously, someone has 
to be the Grinch on behalf of our taxpayers. That is why earlier this 
year I introduced the End-of-Year Fiscal Responsibility Act.
  My bill would limit an agency's spending in the last 2 months of the 
year to no more than the average of the previous 10 months. This bill 
will not end all wasteful spending, but it will force agencies to put 
more thought into long-term planning and curtail the bad habit of out-
of-control impulsive spending.
  Folks, Washington spending is out of control. With our national debt 
now surpassing $22 trillion, Washington should be looking for ways to 
save by canceling or delaying unnecessary expenses rather than 
splurging on end-of-the-year wish lists.
  I would like to recognize the great work of the nonpartisan group 
OpenTheBooks, which is working to put every dime the government spends 
online in real time to hold Washington accountable. The group issued a 
report on this very subject in March.
  I would also like to note that Iowans sent me to the Senate with a 
specific mission: Cut wasteful spending, and make Washington squeal. To 
prevent buyer's remorse, I am giving everyone in Washington fair 
warning. My office will be reviewing your last-minute purchases and 
asking you to justify them to the taxpayers.
  It is time to put an end to this reckless behavior. Billion-dollar 
binge buying is no way to budget.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.