With a potential government shutdown looming, Congress is scrambling to piece together a massive appropriations package, known as an omnibus. The omnibus is comprised of 12 individual appropriations bills that together fund operations across the entire federal government. This means that, if passed, the omnibus has huge potential to finally enact some longstanding transparency and good government reforms.
Appropriators in both the House and the Senate have only just agreed on a topline spending number, and are now ironing out specific budget requests. If lawmakers are unable to reach a deal in the next few weeks, the government will either shut down (again) or — more likely — Congress will be forced to pass yet another continuing resolution to keep the government open, and the Biden administration will have missed an opportunity to put its stamp on federal agency budgets.
As Congress considers this spending package, here are five provisions that should be included because they would contribute to a more effective federal government that is accountable to the American people.
Appropriators should use the omnibus as an opportunity to push through bipartisan reforms to the inspectors general system. Inspectors general are nonpartisan, independent watchdogs responsible for detecting and preventing instances of fraud, waste, and abuse in federal agencies. As POGO has testified, inspectors general play a critical role in achieving a more effective...
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