Bipartisan Bill Cosponsored By Senator Hassan to Maintain Fiscal Responsibility and Improve Efficiency in Government Signed into Law

WASHINGTON – Bipartisan legislation, cosponsored by Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), to improve government efficiency was signed into law today by President Trump. The bipartisan Good Accounting Obligation in Government (GAO-IG) Act, which was introduced by Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), would help maintain fiscal responsibility and improve efficiency in government by increasing oversight of taxpayer dollars spent by federal agencies. The GAO-IG Act requires federal agencies to provide annual reports to Congress on the status of implementing recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (IG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“This bipartisan bill will help hold federal agencies accountable and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted,” Senator Hassan said. “As Governor, I worked to enact two fiscally responsible, balanced budgets that protected critical priorities without a sales or income tax, and I will keep working to bring that same focus on fiscal responsibility, innovation, and government efficiency to the United States Senate.”  

As of 2016, there were more than 15,000 open and unimplemented federal agency recommendations from the IG, with a potential savings of $87 billion. Currently, GAO has more than 8,000 open federal agency recommendations. Over time, federal agencies have neglected to act on these recommendations. The GAO-IG Act requires agencies to report on the status of such recommendations as part of their annual budget justification, including providing a timeline for implementation of outstanding recommendations, or providing justification for not implementing the recommendations. 

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