Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, started a caucus with a California Democrat this week that will focus on getting rid of government waste.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Coffman has created a watchdog caucus with a California Democrat that will focus on identifying wasteful or ineffective government spending.
Writing in Politico, Coffman, R-Aurora, and Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, say their new caucus will “bolster our commitment to oversight and to support our colleagues with the tools and resources needed to identify wasteful spending or ineffective governance.”
They cite the now infamous and indulgent $800,000 Las Vegas conference held by the General Services Administration.
“Our nation cannot afford wasteful government expenditures of any amount,” they wrote. “Across-the-board cuts to federal spending and other deficit-reduction strategies are shrinking critical safety net programs, lifesaving medical research and even services to our veterans. Members of both parties must work together to protect federal funds from waste, fraud and abuse.”
This isn’t exactly a new idea.
In the last Congress, dozens of lawmakers touted a 2011 Government Accountability Office report that outlined duplications in federal programs.
Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, introduced legislation to require congressional committees to hold hearings on duplicative programs. His bill never went anywhere, but his office said Tuesday he may re-introduce that bill in this new Congress.
Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat, also in the last Congress introduced a bill that did not gain steam to try and cut down on government waste by creating another committee to identify inefficient programs.