Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published an alarming report for taxpayers that highlighted how the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education have failed to enforce compliance with transparency laws for grant recipients. The report concluded these agencies “did not gather information from grantees about how the grantees calculate the dollar amounts and percentages in their...funding disclosure,” and “are unable to ensure that grant programs are being implemented by grantees in full accordance with the statutory requirements….”
Current law, known as the “Stevens Amendment,” requires grant recipients of these three executive departments to disclose the percent of costs funded by federal dollars, the amount of money received from the federal government, and the amount financed by other funds. The problem is, however, that many programs in these departments do not monitor grant recipients’ compliance with the Stevens Amendment. For example, the GAO report states: “Neither HHS, nor its operating divisions, had developed processes to manage and administer grantees’ Stevens Amendment compliance.”
Thankfully, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), joined by fellow fiscally conscientious Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and James Lankford (R-OK), took action and introduced legislation to fix the problem. The Cost Openness and Spending Transparency (COST) Act will “[require] every project supported with federal funds to include a price tag that is easily available for taxpayers.”
The COST Act will force compliance by giving the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the authority “to withhold a portion of a grant from a recipient that does not disclose the costs, as required, until it does.”
Senator Ernst showed the need for greater transparency when she summarized several questionable studies that had received taxpayer funds, such as “The Cat’s Meow,” a combination of ten different studies of cats’ behavior that received $1.3 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health. These studies concluded “that cats pampered with treats and classical music every day are less likely to poop outside of the litter box or cough up hairballs.”
The COST Act will force agencies to comply with disclosure laws so that taxpayers can clearly see how much of their money is being wasted. The three Senators who introduced this reform are all well-known for their efforts to fight government waste. Senator Ernst gives a “Squeal Award” every month to a particularly wasteful government program or idea. Senator Lankford publishes an annual report entitled “Federal Fumbles” that outlines government inefficiencies, and Senator Paul publishes a periodic “Waste Report” that also points out wasteful programs. NTU applauds these Senators for their efforts to end government waste and urges other members of Congress to join the fight.