Ernst goes after federal ‘use-it or lose-it’ spending sprees

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) on April 30 sponsored legislation that would dictate requirements for federal agency spending at the end of a fiscal year.

“With our national debt now surpassing $22 trillion, Washington should be looking for ways to save by canceling or delaying unnecessary expenses, rather than encouraging bureaucrats to splurge on end-of-year wish lists,” Sen. Ernst said on Tuesday.

The End-of-Year Fiscal Responsibility Act, S. 1238, would limit federal agency spending during the last two months of the fiscal year to no more than the average it spent per month during the preceding 10 months, according to Sen. Ernst.

The proposed limit under S. 1238 would apply only to discretionary spending — not entitlement payments like Social Security and Medicare — and would exempt national security-related expenses.

“Billion-dollar binge buying is no way to budget,” said Sen. Ernst. “That’s why I am introducing a common sense bill that would curtail the out-of-control, impulsive spending we so often see in Washington by removing incentives for government agencies to needlessly shell out their extra tax dollars at the end of the year.”

The annual “use-it or lose-it” shopping spree by federal agencies, she said, results in billions of dollars of unnecessary spending.

Last year, for example, federal agencies spent $53 billion in taxpayer money during the last week of the fiscal year, according to the senator’s office.

S. 1238 is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.