[Senate Report 117-216]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 572
117th Congress      }                                     {    Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                     {    117-216

_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



         WASTEFUL FEDERAL PROGRAMS REDUCTION AUTHORIZATION ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 2135

               TO AMEND TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE, TO
              REQUIRE THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF EACH
           AGENCY TO COMPILE A LIST OF UNNECESSARY PROGRAMS,
                         AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES








[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]








                December 5, 2022.--Ordered to be printed  
                
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-010                   WASHINGTON : 2022
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
            Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
         Matthew T. Cornelius, Senior Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Cara G. Mumford, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk























                                                      Calendar No. 572
117th Congress      }                                     {    Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                     {    117-216

======================================================================



 
         WASTEFUL FEDERAL PROGRAMS REDUCTION AUTHORIZATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                December 5, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2135]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2135) to amend 
title 31, United States Code, to require the Chief Operating 
Officer of each agency to compile a list of unnecessary 
programs, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment, in the nature of a 
substitute, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................  1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................  2
III. Legislative History..............................................  2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............  3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................  3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................  4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............  5

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 2135, the Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs 
Act, creates a process for identifying wasteful agency programs 
and program activities to reduce spending and streamline 
delivery of government services through increased transparency.

              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    The federal government continues to face an unsustainable 
long-term fiscal path caused by an imbalance between federal 
revenue and spending.\1\ In the short-term, opportunities exist 
for achieving billions of dollars in financial savings by 
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of federal 
programs.\2\ S. 2135 presents a pathway for realizing these 
cost saving opportunities by assisting Congress, the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO), and other transparency and 
accountability actors with identifying unnecessary, defunct, or 
duplicative federal programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Government Accountability Office, 2021 Annual Report: New 
Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and 
Achieve Billions in Financial Benefits (GAO-21-455SP) (May 2021).
    \2\Id at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    S. 2135 builds upon previous efforts to inventory federal 
programs to provide greater transparency and track costs and 
performance. Namely, the bill draws inspiration from the 
Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 
2010 (GPRAMA), the Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act, and the 
Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021. S. 
2135 is loosely based on section 11 of GPRAMA, which 
established a system for identifying and eliminating outdated 
agency reporting. Under section 11, agencies compile a list of 
statutorily mandated duplicative or outdated reports. Agencies 
then send the list to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, and OMB passes the list to Congress and may submit 
legislative recommendations for Congress' consideration that 
eliminates or consolidates the reports identified on the list.
    Similarly, S. 2135 would require agency Chief Operating 
Officers to compile a list of wasteful, duplicative, or 
otherwise unnecessary programs in its annual Congressional 
budget justifications. The list of programs should include 
unnecessary, defunct, or duplicative programs that require 
statutory action to eliminate, agency recommendations for 
programs that could be performed more effectively by a 
different agency, and any plans to consolidate programs within 
the agency. The list of programs and recommendations must be 
sent to OMB for review, and OMB shall pass the list to 
Congress.
    S. 2135 establishing a process for identifying unnecessary, 
defunct, or duplicative federal programs. Once these programs 
have been identified, Congress can craft legislation to rescind 
statutory authorization for these programs and realize the 
accompanying cost savings.

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Margaret Hassan (D-NH) introduced S. 2135, the 
Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs Act, on June 17, 
2021, with original co-sponsor Senator Mike Braun (R-IN). The 
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 2135 at a business meeting on 
February 2, 2022. During the business meeting, a substitute 
amendment and a modification to the substitute amendment were 
offered by Senator Hassan and adopted by voice vote en bloc. 
The substitute amendment requires agencies to identify a list 
of wasteful programs and integrate the list into the Federal 
Program Inventory.\3\ The substitute amendment, as modified, 
makes technical changes to the substitute amendment to update 
references. The bill, as amended, was ordered reported 
favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators Peters, Carper, 
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Lankford, 
Scott, and Hawley were present.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. 
116-283, Sec. 9601 (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs Act.''

Section 2. Identification and elimination of unnecessary agency 
        programs or program activities

    Subsection (a) amends the federal program inventory to 
include annual budget justification materials prepared by OMB 
in an effort to increase government accountability.
    Subsection (b) defines the terms ``agency'', ``program'', 
and ``program activity''. Additionally, subsection (b) requires 
agency Chief Operating Officers to compile a list of programs 
in its annual budget. The list of programs should include: 
unnecessary, defunct, or duplicative programs; recommendations 
for programs that could be performed more effectively by a 
different agency; and plans or actions to consolidate 
unnecessary, defunct, or duplicative programs within the 
agency. Subsection (b) requires OMB publish the list of 
wasteful programs as part of the federal program inventory and 
any federal program inventory pilot programs. Lastly, OMB must 
submit the compiled list of programs to the Committee on 
Appropriations in the Senate and the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
House of Representatives. OMB must also consult with Congress 
to determine whether a program is unnecessary, defunct, or 
duplicative, whether it could be eliminated or consolidated 
with another program, and whether another agency could perform 
the activity more effectively.
    Subsection (c) makes a clerical amendment for section 1127 
of title 31 to be added to the table of sections.
    Subsection (d) sets the effective date as 120 days after 
the date of enactment.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 17, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2135, the Wasteful 
Federal Programs Reduction Authorization Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    S. 2135 would require the Office of Management and Budget 
to provide guidance to federal agencies for identifying 
programs and activities for elimination or consolidation, 
within the current budget process.
    The federal government currently reviews different ways to 
reduce, eliminate, or manage the overlap and duplication within 
its agencies. Because of that ongoing activity, CBO expects 
that implementing the bill would not significantly increase or 
reduce federal spending over the 2022-2027 period. 
Additionally, CBO estimates that the administrative costs to 
implement the bill would be less than $500,000 over the same 
period. Any effect on spending would be subject to future 
appropriation action.
    Enacting S. 2135 could affect direct spending by some 
agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale 
of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO 
estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those 
agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust 
amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle II--The Budget Process

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 11--THE BUDGET AND FISCAL, BUDGET, AND PROGRAM INFORMATION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 1122. TRANSPARENCY OF PROGRAMS, PRIORITY GOALS, AND RESULTS

    (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (D) * * *
                          (i) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                          (vi) to the extent practicable and 
                        consistent with guidance issued by the 
                        Director of the Office of Management 
                        and Budget, information provided in the 
                        annual budget justification materials 
                        submitted in conjunction with the 
                        budget of the United States Government 
                        submitted under section 1105(a) in 
                        accordance with section 3(a) of the 
                        Federal Funding Accountability and 
                        Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 
                        6101 note);
                          [(vi)](ix) any other information that 
                        the Director of the Office of 
                        Management and Budget determines 
                        relevant relating to program activity 
                        data in priority areas most relevant to 
                        Congress or the public to increase 
                        transparency and [accountability; 
                        and]accountability, including 
                        information included in the list 
                        compiled under section 1127(b)(1); and
                          [(vii)](ix) for each assistance 
                        listing under which Federal financial 
                        assistance is provided, for the current 
                        fiscal year and each of the 2 fiscal 
                        years before the current fiscal year 
                        and consistent with existing law 
                        relating to the protection of 
                        personally identifiable information--

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 1127. IDENTIFICATION OF UNNECESSARY AGENCY PROGRAMS OR PROGRAM 
                    ACTIVITIES

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 1108(a).
          (2) Program.--The term `program' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 1122(a)(1).
          (3) Program activity.--The term `program activity' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 1115(h).
    (b) Agency Identification of Unnecessary Programs or 
Program Activities.--Not later than the 20 days after the date 
on which the President transmits the budget of the United 
States Government under section 1105(a) each year, and based on 
guidance provided by the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget, the Chief Operating Officer of each agency shall--
          (1) compile a list that identifies any program or 
        program activity of the agency that--
                  (A) is unnecessary, defunct, or duplicative 
                of another program or program activity of the 
                agency;
                  (B) another agency could administer more 
                effectively; or
                  (C) could operate more effectively if the 
                program or activity were consolidated with 
                other programs or activities;
          (2) publish the list compiled under paragraph (1) 
        in--
                  (A) with respect to each list compiled before 
                the date of the implementation described in 
                section 9601(b)(3) of title XCVI of the William 
                M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 
                Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (31 
                U.S.C. 1122 note) of the program inventory 
                described in section 1122(a)(2)(B)(i) of this 
                title, the pilot program described in section 
                9601(b)(2)(B) of title XCVI of that Act; and
                  (B) with respect to each successive list, the 
                program inventory described in section 
                1122(a)(2)(B)(i); and
          (3) submit the list compiled under paragraph (1) to--
                  (A) the relevant congressional committees of 
                jurisdiction of the agency;
                  (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                Senate;
                  (C) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                  (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                  (E) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of 
                the House of Representatives.
    (c) Recommendations.--Based on guidance issued by the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the head of an 
agency may submit to Congress recommendations for statutory 
changes to eliminate or consolidate programs or program 
activities identified under subsection (b)(1).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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