A.G. Gancarski
U.S. Representative John Rutherford learned during his time running the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office how to do more with less discretionary spending. And it appears he has brought that skill set to the Congress, where he looks to do some cost cutting at the Department of Homeland Security.
H.R. 1294, the Reducing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acquisition Cost Growth Act, seeks to stop “wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars by agencies like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),” reads a press release from Rutherford’s office.
“Cost overruns and schedule delays” are wasting tax dollars, Rutherford asserts.
“When DHS fails to properly manage these programs efficiently,” the Jacksonville Republican says, “taxpayer dollars are wasted instead of going toward providing the necessary tools for FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection to do their jobs – keeping Americans safe.”
The Rutherford bill mandates increased Congressional oversight of programs under the DHS umbrella.
According to the Governmental Accounting Office, DHS has been on a “high-risk” list since 2005, because waste and mismanagement are recurrent plagues for its $7 billion portfolio of programs.
The bill is co-sponsored by Homeland Security chairman Michael McCaul.
