To: Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
From: David Timmons, National Taxpayers Union
Date: July 29, 2025
Subject: Taxpayer Considerations for July 30 Markup
Introduction
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we thank Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) for including several legislative proposals in the July 30 Business Meeting of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that would benefit America’s taxpayers. Please consider the policy experts and advocates at NTU and our sister organization, NTU Foundation, a resource to Committee members and staff throughout the 119th session of Congress.
Legislation NTU Supports at July 30 Markup
S. 269 - Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act - Support
This legislation, sponsored by Senator Kennedy (R-LA), would improve the coordination between the Do Not Pay system at the Department of the Treasury and the Death Master File at the Social Security Administration, by making the data sharing arrangement between the two agencies permanent. Improper payments compose a substantial amount of waste within government spending, amounting to an estimated $162 billion last year alone. Most of this figure (84%) is overpayments, which includes payments to deceased individuals. This can be addressed through the use of the Do Not Pay system, which is an intergovernmental system drawing from various public and non-public sources to determine payment eligibility. By enhancing the coordination of Social Security Administration data with this system, fewer improper payments will be sent from the federal government to dead people.
S. 81 - Guidance Clarity Act - Support
This legislation, sponsored by Senator Lankford (R-OK), would require all federal agencies to include a guidance clarity statement that states the guidance is not issued in accordance with the rulemaking process and therefore is not legally binding. While guidance documents are solely intended to clarify an agency’s policy or interpretation of a regulation, agencies have recently used guidance to issue new policy as if it were a binding regulation. Since guidance is not subject to the same public process as formal rules, which are required to be shared with the public for comments and input prior to finalization, regulatory guidance documents can be used to circumvent public input.
S. 861 - Disaster Assistance Simplification Act - Support
This bill, sponsored by Senators Peters, Lankford, Paul, and Tillis, would streamline information sharing among federal disaster assistance agencies. Time is of the essence when disasters hit, and having separate applications for federal assistance from different agencies slow down government response. This bill would require the establishment of a single federal form for disaster assistance, which will also allow the federal government to better track waste, fraud, and abuse by those who receive this assistance.
S. 766 - Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act - Support
This bill, from Sen. Ernst (R-IA), has been a NTU “No-Brainer” before. It would require federal agencies to report on all projects that are $1 billion over budget, five years behind schedule, or both. This kind of transparency and straightforward reporting is essential for both lawmakers and taxpayers to figure out which federal projects are working and which projects are not.
S. 872 - Stop Secret Spending Act - Support
This bill, from Sen. Ernst (R-IA) and Ranking Member Peters (D-MI), would shed more transparency on a type of federal contract known as “other transaction agreements.” Recently, it has come to light that over $40 billion in federal spending is not subject to the same disclosure and transparency requirements that are placed on most federal spending on USAspending.gov. This bill seeks to ensure that taxpayers can understand more about where their hard earned money is being spent by the federal government by listing and disclosing these contracts on USAspending.gov.
Contact Information
Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to David Timmons at dtimmons@ntu.org.