Auditor Jim Zeigler continues to lead way in cuts and savings; Where are others?
Promises to cut costs and shrink government are frequent among conservatives during election years. You’d be hard pressed to find a candidate who didn’t talk about these in the last several cycles as big government has became an easy target as state and federal budgets ballooned. The question I pose today is why aren’t we hearing more plans for cost cutting and savings when the budget is the biggest focus in the state? State Auditor Jim Zeigler continues his crusade to address avenues where money can be saved with his latest recommendation to eliminate the office of the Examiners of Public Accounts. In a release sent by his office sent, he notes that the $13 million budget of the examiners office could be shifted to the state parks. Beyond the cost savings, Zeigler’s release states, “The plan will provide more timely audits, because the Examiners are seriously late in their audits. Some state agencies have already privatized their auditing, paying money from their own budgets to obtain an audit they previously got free from the Examiners.” It’s doubtful the Legislature would actually take Zeigler up on his plan to get rid of the Examiners office. Functions of the job would need to continue, especially for the reviews needed for the Sunset Committee. The point is where are all of the other ideas? Why aren’t their reports every day of ideas as bold as Zeigler’s? Zeigler has said he’ll update his proposed plan on Tuesday. We’ll stay tuned for more from him and encourage other elected officials at every level of government to follow his lead and begin making suggestions as well.
Bradley Byrne bill would impose up-or-down reviews on federal agencies
On Thursday, Republican U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama introduced legislation that would submit government agencies to 10-year reviews by Congress, followed by a congressional vote to renew or eliminate them. Byrne modeled The Sunset Inefficient and Unaccountable Government Act, known as the Sunset Act, after Alabama’s Sunset Committee. That committee of 12 members of the House and Senate is tasked with conducting four-year reviews of certain state agencies. Although Alabama’s Sunset Committee has discretion to review any agency at any time, state agencies with sunset provisions in their statutes are automatically set to terminate after four years. The committee can review the agency’s performance and recommend that it continue or modify its work. Byrne’s Sunset Act would grant exemption to federal agencies deemed essential to national security. Byrne issued a prepared statement Thursday: “Our Founding Fathers would be appalled to see the endless maze of agencies that the federal government has become. Our government is in desperate need of reform and a return to our basic responsibilities. The Washington bureaucracy has become too big, and the heavy hand of government is hurting the American taxpayers. “It is time we rein in the federal government, and the Sunset Act would pave the way for much needed reforms. My bill would require Congress to renew all federal agencies on a staggered basis every 10 years. Without renewal, the agencies will cease to exist. Under this legislation, Congress will be forced to study and review the bloated federal government and get serious about ending unnecessary or duplicative federal agencies. “Washington could benefit from some Alabama common sense, and I look forward to building support for my legislation in Congress.”
