U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who serves as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has reintroduced the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act in an effort to address government spending and promote fiscal responsibility.
The proposed legislation seeks to broaden the scope of current federal law, which allows agency Inspectors General to award bonuses of up to $10,000 when a federal employee identifies waste, fraud, or mismanagement of funds. Under Senator Paul’s bill, employees would also be eligible for bonuses if they identify surplus or unneeded funds within their agencies.
In a statement about the bill, Senator Paul said: “Successfully tackling our debt crisis requires vigilance at all levels of government, from lawmakers in Congress to the employees on the front lines that carry out the day-to-day spending. The pressure in Washington to spend all you can before the end of the fiscal year so you can get even more in the future is enormous. Bonuses for Cost-Cutters pushes back against this status quo, providing additional incentive to save taxpayer resources.”
The act stipulates that 90 percent of any savings realized through these efforts would be automatically allocated toward deficit reduction. Agencies would have discretion under existing law regarding how to use any remaining savings.
