Support a bipartisan sunset commission for Congress

[This post originates at allthingsreform.org on April 07, 2007]

In 2006, Congress spent just under $160 billion on programs and activities whose authorizations had already expired. Many of them were initiated with a limited timetable; however, those federal programs have remained on the taxpayer's dime beyond their tenure. About half of our states are already running their own sunset commissions.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is introducing legislation that would create a federal sunset commission to identify federal agencies and programs that should be reviewed—and perhaps trimmed or even eliminated! He says in his April 6, 2007 Texas Tales column:

In Texas, the sunset process has led to elimination of dozens of agencies, and has saved Texas taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Most federal programs are authorized by Congress only for a certain number of years. My bill would establish a commission to scrutinize carefully all unauthorized (technically expired) programs that the federal government continues to fund.

There will be plenty of candidates. A recent 83-page report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that Congress spent just under $160 billion in 2006 on programs and activities—even though their authorization had expired.

The list included hundreds of accounts, big and small, ranging from the Coast Guard ($8 billion) to the Administration on Aging ($1.5 billion) to Section 8 tenant-based housing ($15.6 billion) to foreign relations programs ($9.5 billion).

Many of these programs—perhaps most—deserve reauthorization. But Congress should aggressively determine whether they're working as intended.

The bipartisan sunset commission I am proposing would ask a question similar to one the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission asks: "Is an agency or program still needed?"

With our gross national debt approaching $9 billion and with Social Security and Medicare programs becoming fiscally unsustainable over the long run, a "sunset" commission is a useful tool in our ongoing effort to control costs. Cornyn serves on the senate's Budget Committee.