In Sunday’s Denver Post, Cory Gardner joined Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI) in talking about H.Res 142, the resolution to require Congressional committee hearings on a recently released GAO report on duplicative federal programs .
I can’t honestly disagree with eliminating wasteful and duplicative programs, but I do believe it’s a bit disingenuous for Gardner to claim his resolution is some sort of significant action or major step toward fiscal responsibility. His resolution does nothing but require more hearings in congress: it doesn’t eliminate a single dollar in waste and it does nothing that couldn’t already be done if he and his colleagues would do their jobs. This entire resolution is duplicative and wasteful.
Has Gardner pressed for a single hearing in the Energy and Commerce committee to look at eliminating some of these duplicative programs? It’s doubtful, as he has repeatedly refused to specifically point out cuts he would support. With this resolution, he wants to take credit for cutting waste without actually cutting waste.
Also, what really gets accomplished at hearings? Not a lot: each member there makes a prepared statement, Cory Gardner wastes time with jokes, and then later each side introduces legislation on the issue based on their views before the hearing. If Gardner wants to take credit for cutting waste, I want to see him introduce legislation that cuts waste, not a resolution requiring further committee grandstanding and discussion.
Of course, Gardner also seems to think that his resolution is important because, in the past, Congress hasn’t acted on the GAO report. From his column: “Congress requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a detailed report of these programs on an annual basis. While there is always outrage at the report's findings, no significant action has been taken to address the problem until now.”
“Always outrage but no action” he says. Was there outrage last year when the report was issued? No, because the report did not exist last year. The report was required by PL 111-139, which was passed in 2010 by a Democratic Congress (and his predecessor voted Aye).
Mr. Gardner, don’t pretend that this resolution actually will do anything new or useful and don’t pretend that previous Congress’s didn’t act on the report. If you want to claim credit for cutting waste, you could do many other useful things: request a hearing be held on one of these duplicative programs or introduce legislation to remedy some of the reported duplication.
Finally, Gardner never mentions the other part of the GAO report that he touts so much: the part on enhancing revenues. I wonder if as part of the required hearings if Gardner would support hearings that look at improving tax compliance of sole proprietors, increasing revenue collection from S. Corporations, increased enforcement of tax evaders, and combating overstated real estate tax deductions, all of which the report identifies as policies that would “enhance revenue collections”
Would Gardner support mandatory hearings each year on GAO’s findings on how to enhance federal revenue as well? He apparently doesn’t want to talk about that bit of the report.