[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 969-970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCING THE GOVERNMENT WASTE REDUCTION ACT

  (Mrs. BUSTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise to talk about the first piece of 
legislation I am introducing as a Member of Congress.
  Like many people across Illinois, I learned at a young age that 
balancing

[[Page 970]]

the family pocketbook and living within our means is a question of 
values. I want to work together on commonsense solutions that reduce 
the deficit while preserving the important services on which so many 
people rely.
  The bill I'm introducing today does just that. It is called the 
Government Waste Reduction Act. This bill moves forward on 
recommendations the Government Accountability Office made that would 
reduce duplication in government, save taxpayer money, enhance revenue, 
and root out waste.
  It establishes the independent Government Waste Reduction Board, 
tasked with recommending legislative proposals that implement these 
cost-cutting measures and sending them to Congress.
  For example, the Federal Government has 47 job training programs, 44 
of which overlap. Simply consolidating programs that overlap can save 
tens of billions of dollars, while not impacting program quality.
  Commonsense proposals to cut waste out of government already exist, 
but they are meaningless and save nothing unless we implement them. My 
bill will serve as a starting point to lower our deficits by tens of 
billions of dollars in a responsible, commonsense way that protects the 
middle class.

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