Legislation has been introduced in the Senate that would require agencies to produce a report card every year for all of their programs, and make available program information in greater detail.
The Taxpayers Right to Know Act has been introduced in previous years without full passage. The current bill, S-2113, been referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where it has strong bipartisan support. A companion bill (HR-1423) passed the House recently.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., would require publication of a thorough program inventory, including program description, total administrative costs, service expenditures, number of beneficiaries, and an estimate of the federal and contractor employees administering it.
The bill also could require similar or overlapping programs to be listed, as well as recent performance reviews, improper payment rates, and total amounts of unobligated funds – including that which is held by grantees.
