Sponsors (3)
The bill creates financial incentives, transparency, and oversight to find and rescind wasteful federal spending—potentially saving taxpayer money—but raises risks of program disruptions from rescissions, added administrative burdens from incentives, and reduced participation by some oversight personnel.
Federal employees who identify wasteful spending can receive cash awards when their reports lead to agency cost savings, creating a direct financial incentive to surface recoverable waste.
Agencies must publish descriptions of meritorious disclosures and award amounts alongside 31 U.S.C. §1116 data, increasing transparency about waste reductions and how award funds are used.
Requiring agency CFO review and tri‑ennial GAO reports strengthens oversight of proposed rescissions, which can improve identification and rescission of unnecessary spending and reduce long‑term taxpayer costs.
Rescissions pursued based on employee reports could lead to sudden cuts to programs funded by rescinded accounts, disrupting services or operations for beneficiaries and partner governments.
Paying cash awards for identified 'wasteful expenses' could incentivize overreporting or internal disputes, increasing administrative burden on agencies and diverting staff time to adjudicating claims.
Excluding OIG personnel and others ineligible under §4509 from award eligibility may reduce incentives for certain oversight staff to report issues through this program, weakening some internal reporting channels.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a program to pay federal employees cash awards for identifying agency "wasteful expenses," requires CFO verification, public reporting, and rescission notifications to the President.
Creates a new cash-award program that pays federal employees who identify agency "wasteful expenses." Agencies must have their chief financial officers verify the reported waste, agency heads must notify the President so he may propose rescissions of the identified funds, and agencies must publish information about disclosures and awards. The Office of Personnel Management must enforce the rules and certify agency compliance to Congress each year, and GAO must evaluate the program every three years for six years. Sets eligibility and disclosure rules, excludes Office of Inspector General staff and those barred under existing law, requires public reporting alongside existing financial reporting, and establishes oversight and reporting timelines to track program operation and savings.
Introduced January 15, 2025 by Chuck Fleischmann · Last progress June 9, 2026