Two Hassan Bills Recognized by National Taxpayers Union on 2023 “No-Brainer” Bills Congress Should Pass

WASHINGTON – The National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan national taxpayer advocacy and pro-economic growth organization, named bipartisan bills that Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced on its annual list of ten commonsense, “no-brainer” legislation that Congress should pass.

The list includes the Site-based Invoicing and Transparency Enhancement (SITE) Act, which Senator Hassan helped introduce with Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), to prevent hospital systems from charging unfair hospital facility fees for care received at outpatient facilities located away from the hospital – like a primary care office – as well as the Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs Act, which Senator Hassan also introduced with Senator Braun, to require federal agencies to identify wasteful programs and assist Congress with developing legislation to eliminate those programs.

“Our democracy works best when we are able to work together and find common ground, and I am glad to see bipartisan bills I introduced recognized as the commonsense solutions that they are,” said Senator Hassan. “I urge my colleagues to support these bills and I will continue to work to pass bipartisan legislation that will help the country thrive.”

NTU’s 13th Annual “No Brainers” List: 2023's Top 10 Bipartisan Bills for Taxpayers

National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is happy to present its 13th annual “No Brainers” list that can unite lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Each bill would be a welcome gift for taxpayers and must meet three key criteria: 1) it has support from both Democrats and Republicans, 2) it has not appeared on a previous NTU “No Brainers” list, and 3) it is a sensible way to address a real problem that taxpayers face. Each bill below shows that there can be wide agreement on effective solutions to various issues when partisan politics are set aside in the spirit of the holiday season.

[…]

Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs Act

Bill Number(s): S. 666 / H.R. 1390

Lead Sponsors/Cosponsors: Senator Hassan (D-NH), Senator Braun (R-IN), Rep. Cuellar (D-TX), Rep. Mace (R-SC)

Why It’s a No-Brainer: This legislation would compel agencies to compile lists of unnecessary or duplicative programs that hurt taxpayers by wasting limited tax dollars. They also hurt the individuals, businesses, and organizations that federal programs are supposed to help. This good governance legislation would require federal agencies to work with Congress on eliminating or consolidating unnecessary or duplicative federal programs.

[…]

SITE Act

Bill Number(s): S. 1869

Lead Sponsors/Cosponsors: Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH)

Why It’s a No-Brainer: This legislation, the Site-based Invoicing and Transparency Enhancement Act (SITE Act), would eliminate the exception for payments to off campus providers which is artificially boosting Medicare spending. The problem is that higher rates are provided for services at hospital outpatient care facilities than for similar services provided by physicians. This legislation would provide a number of fixes to this issue, including by directing the Department of Health and Human Services to consider the off campus departments as part of the same entity, and ending the grandfathering exception to current site neutral payment policy. This legislation would save taxpayers billions in spending by preventing a market distortion that doesn’t benefit patients.

###