A bipartisan bill authored by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst has unanimously passed the U.S. Senate, taking a major step toward increasing transparency in federal spending.
The legislation, known as the Stop Secret Spending Act, was introduced by Senator Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, along with Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan. The bill would require federal agencies to publicly disclose billions of dollars in spending agreements that have previously remained hidden from taxpayers.
Current law requires most federal expenditures to be reported on USAspending.gov, allowing the public to see where tax dollars are being spent and who is receiving them. However, lawmakers say agencies have been bypassing those requirements through the use of agreements known as Other Transaction Agreements, or OTAs.
According to Senate officials, the Department of Defense alone awarded approximately $25.5 billion in OTAs over the past two years and has committed an additional $44 billion through the agreements.
If enacted, the Stop Secret Spending Act would require OTAs to be reported in the same way as grants, contracts, loans, and other federal expenditures. The legislation would also require agencies to provide summaries and explanations for spending that remains undisclosed, giving taxpayers a more complete picture of the federal government’s $7.4 trillion annual budget.
“Bureaucrats have been playing hide and seek with tax dollars for far too long,” Ernst said. “It’s time to end the games and stop the secret spending. The American people will now have a full picture of how Washington spends their money, so we can identify and cut waste and stop fraud and abuse.”
Peters said the measure would strengthen accountability and help reduce government waste.
“This commonsense legislation will increase transparency around how the federal government is using taxpayer resources and will cut down on waste, fraud, and abuse,” Peters said. “Americans deserve to know how their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being spent, and I’m pleased to see this bipartisan bill is one step closer to becoming law.”
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma also voiced support for the legislation.
“You can’t cut waste you can’t see,” Lankford said. “The Stop Secret Spending Act shines a light on billions of dollars in government spending that has been deliberately kept from taxpayers. Transparency is the first step toward accountability, and accountability is how we stop Washington from wasting the money Americans work hard to earn.”
A companion measure introduced in the House by Representatives Barry Moore of Alabama, Jimmy Panetta of California, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Harriet Hageman of Wyoming was approved unanimously by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March.
