NTU Endorses S. 1378, the "Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015"

The Honorable Rand Paul United States Senate 167 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mark Warner United States Senate 475 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators Paul and Warner,

On behalf of the members of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I write to express our support for S. 1378, the “Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act.” This legislation would incentivize federal employees to report not only mismanaged or wasted taxpayer funds, but also surplus budget authority.

If enacted, S. 1378 would reduce wasteful spending and help combat a major problem: the end-of-year rush to spend all appropriated dollars. Under current law, federal employees are encouraged to adopt a ‘use it or lose it’ mentality and spend leftover money to avoid future budget cuts. This leads to a perpetual misallocation of funds far into the future and persistent agency cost growth.

S. 1378 addresses this problem by expanding criteria for current employee suggestion programs administered by agency Inspectors General, and rewarding employees whose suggestions are implemented with up to one percent of the savings or $10,000, whichever is less. Unused funds can be returned to the Treasury for deficit reduction and agencies will be required to report any savings in order to share best practices. The bill also includes practical safeguards to ensure the changes do not negatively impact agency missions.

This approach to government reform uniquely empowers government employees to boost efficiency and better steward the taxpayer funds entrusted to them. S. 1378 is an important tool that would help to root out waste, ease the trend of unsustainable budget growth, and properly redesign the incentive structure that leads to unwise purchases.

As our national debt approaches a staggering $19 trillion, it is critical that Congress deploy every possible measure to root out unnecessary spending. S. 1378 is the kind of commonsense, bipartisan initiative taxpayers need more of.

NTU is pleased to endorse the “Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015” and urges all Senators to support this legislation.

Sincerely,

Nan Swift
Federal Affairs Manager