Utah Valley Times

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Spending Oversight Subcommittee, and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), the Subcommittee’s Chair, spearheaded a hearing on May 15, 2024. The purpose of the hearing was to scrutinize the 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on methods to curtail duplication, overlap, and fragmentation within the federal government and save taxpayer dollars.

During this hearing, Romney emphasized legislation he introduced with Senator Manchin. This legislation requires employees of federal agencies to return to in-person work after a recent GAO report found that 17 out of 24 federal agency headquarters were operating at an average capacity of 25% or less.

In March, Senator Romney, along with HSGAC Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI), introduced bipartisan legislation to enhance oversight of federal funds susceptible to fraud. Their Government Spending Oversight Act passed out of HSGAC in April and is currently awaiting action on the Senate floor.

Senator Romney's opening statement and parts of his exchange with Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO, are available below.

Opening Statement:

Senator Romney expressed gratitude towards Chair Hassan for holding this hearing and Mr. Dodaro for his continuous service. He highlighted his concerns about waste, fraud, abuse—duplication, fragmentation within the government system. He mentioned that he had introduced bipartisan Government Spending Oversight Act last year based on GAO's duplication report presented here. He also raised concerns about maintaining a strong and effective workforce at the federal government level due to telework policies.

Questioning:

Romney asked Dodaro about ongoing fraud in the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program as highlighted by the 2024 GAO report. In response, Dodaro said that while ERTC is essentially over, the IRS needs to focus on documentation and recovery if they've overpaid in some areas.

Romney then asked about the rampant government fraud and whether more resources should be devoted to identifying fraud and increasing penalties for those who steal from the government. Dodaro agreed that not enough investigations are being done, not enough effort on prosecution, and more tools should be given to inspectors general.

When asked about teleworking's effectiveness and its impact on productivity, Dodaro suggested focusing on outcomes and agency achievement of its mission.

Finally, Romney sought Dodaro's perspective on the advent of AI and its potential impact. Dodaro emphasized that AI will have enormous implications for the workforce and could affect both blue collar as well as white collar jobs broadly across government.