Jack Bergman
05/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/01/2024 11:14
Bergman and Arrington Introduce Bill to Restore Oversight of Costly Executive Actions
Today, House Budget Committee Oversight Task Force Chairman Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) introduced the Strengthening Administrative PAYGO (SAP) Act of 2024 to reassert Congress' constitutional authority of reining in the out-of-control and unchecked administrative spending.
Article I of the Constitution provides Congress with the power of the purse to act as an important check on the Executive Branch. However, administrations on both sides of the aisle have increasingly turned to executive actions to implement costly rules outside of Congressional authority. In response to this circumvention of the separation of powers, Congress passed the Fiscal Responsibly Act (FRA) of 2023, which restored Administrative PAYGO by requiring offsets for the cost of administrative actions that would increase direct spending by at least $1 billion over 10 years or by a $100 million for an annual threshold.
Where the Biden Administration has contorted this law is in the FRA provision that provides the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with the authority to waive Administrative PAYGO requirements if it is necessary for "essential services" or "effective program delivery." OMB has yet to use Administrative PAYGO, relying on its waiver authority to continue spending taxpayer dollars outside of Congress's oversight.
The SAP Act of 2024 will address and remedy OMB's lack of transparency and accountability by ensuring Administrative PAYGO is properly implemented. Specifically, the legislation:
Article I of the Constitution provides Congress with the power of the purse to act as an important check on the Executive Branch. However, administrations on both sides of the aisle have increasingly turned to executive actions to implement costly rules outside of Congressional authority. In response to this circumvention of the separation of powers, Congress passed the Fiscal Responsibly Act (FRA) of 2023, which restored Administrative PAYGO by requiring offsets for the cost of administrative actions that would increase direct spending by at least $1 billion over 10 years or by a $100 million for an annual threshold.
Where the Biden Administration has contorted this law is in the FRA provision that provides the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with the authority to waive Administrative PAYGO requirements if it is necessary for "essential services" or "effective program delivery." OMB has yet to use Administrative PAYGO, relying on its waiver authority to continue spending taxpayer dollars outside of Congress's oversight.
The SAP Act of 2024 will address and remedy OMB's lack of transparency and accountability by ensuring Administrative PAYGO is properly implemented. Specifically, the legislation:
- Includes a requirement for the OMB Director to submit any waiver determination and an estimate of the budgetary effects of the covered action to the Budget Committees;
- Requires, for any exemption made, the OMB Director to submit to the Budget Committees and Comptroller General an estimate of the budgetary effects of the covered action;
- Ensures that such covered action is budget neutral;
- Amends and clarifies the FRA's threshold of at least $1 billion over 10 years or $100 million annually in direct spending from an exemption to a formal requirement;
- Terminates the original sunset date (12/31/24) in the FRA, making the provision permanent; and
- Includes a requirement for the President's budget request to include the number of waivers granted during the prior fiscal year and the first quarter of the current fiscal year and the number of determinations expected to be submitted during the second, third, and fourth quarters of the current fiscal year, and expected to be submitted in the fiscal year for which the budget request is submitted.
"The Executive Branch should not be able to spend untold amounts of taxpayer money without going through the proper congressional channels. We still have the power of the purse and as for my colleagues and I on the House Budget Committee, we will ensure that power is respected. Americans deserve transparency and accountability, as well as proper oversight, of how their tax dollars are being spent - and often wasted. The SAP Act is going to do just that,"Rep. Bergman stated.
Rep. Arrington stated, "In the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), Republicans made a simple, good faith deal with Biden and the Democrats: unilateral executive actions must be paid for. Before the ink was even dry, the Biden Administration went back on its word by failing to pay for its policies, leaving future generations to foot the bill. The SAP Act locks into law the accountability and transparency necessary to ensure that our nation's budget remains tethered to the principles of fiscal responsibility and congressional oversight.
I'm proud to stand with my friend, Oversight Task Force Chair Jack Bergman, and the members of the House Budget Committee to hold President Biden and future Administrations - regardless of Party affiliation - accountable to the American public."
Read the full text of the bill here.