[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15530-15531]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TAXPAYERS RIGHT TO KNOW ACT

  Mr. COBURN. I wish to spend a few minutes talking about a bill that 
passed the House that has 37 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate that 
came out of my committee. It is an important transparency item for the 
American taxpayers called the Taxpayers Right to Know Act.
  What most Americans don't realize is there is only one agency that 
knows

[[Page 15531]]

how many programs it has--only one. None of the rest of the Federal 
agencies know how many Federal programs they are running. They can't 
put them down, can't list them on a piece of paper.
  The GAO has recommended for a long period of time--starting about 3 
or 4 years ago--that we should be putting this down when we have the 
truth in transparency and the truth in accountability act and the 
transparency act with President Obama. We started this process where 
the GAO would look for duplication and report it to Congress.
  We have a bill that has passed unanimously in the House. It is a 
bipartisan bill that came with a voice vote out of our committee. All 
it says is that every agency ought to have to list their programs every 
year so we can know what they are doing. GAO says that will help 
immensely in terms of eliminating this $200 billion to $300 billion a 
year in duplication.
  We are going to have some unanimous requests later today, and we will 
have a bill that is on the floor for which the majority leader has once 
again filled the tree, which allows no amendments whatsoever on the 
bill.
  This bill should be on the floor, should be standing on its own, and 
should be passed because nobody can honestly object to the agencies not 
knowing what programs they run, not having a complete list.
  I mean, it is counterintuitive that anybody would vote against it. It 
makes no sense that we don't know that, and we know we need to have it. 
It is an easy vote for everybody, and the majority leader isn't going 
to allow an amendment.
  So we are not at a new day yet with this present majority leader. 
This is something that helps every American--Democrat or Republican. It 
helps us run our government more efficiently, more effectively. It is a 
good-government amendment, and yet it is not going to be allowed.
  I am disheartened that at the end of the year we could actually do 
some things together that would actually allow us to accomplish real 
things for the American people that will make a real difference in the 
long run, but we won't because we don't want to have what was 
guaranteed to the minority when the Senate was set up--the right to 
offer amendments.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be recognized 
for up to 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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