Bipartisan Effort to Stop Secret Spending in Washington

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Representatives Barry Moore (R-Ala.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) are introducing bipartisan legislation to increase transparency in Washington.

Currently, billions of dollars in spending are hidden from public disclosure through “Other Transactions Agreements,” or OTAs. The Stop Secret Spending Act requires OTAs to be disclosed in the same manner as grants, contracts, loans, and other government expenditures on the public website USAspending.gov, so Americans can view who is receiving their tax dollars and for what purpose.

“Bureaucrats have been playing hide and seek with tax dollars for far too long,” said Ernst. “It’s time to end the games and stop the secret spending. The American people will now be able to see how Washington spends their money, so we can identify and cut waste.”

“Americans deserve to know how their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said Peters. “This commonsense legislation will increase transparency of how the federal government is using taxpayer resources and, in turn, cut down on waste, fraud, and abuse.”

"Federal agencies should be disclosing every taxpayer dollar they spend, especially as we close in on $37 trillion in national debt. Unfortunately, the current OTA loophole allows these agencies to spend billions and leave Americans in the dark,” said Moore. "I thank my colleague, Rep. Panetta, for joining me on this bipartisan legislation to ensure that all federal agency expenditures are easily accessible to the American people on USAspending.gov."

"Right now, billions in federal spending go unreported due to a loophole in the disclosure of other transaction agreements,” said Panetta.  “Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation would close that gap by ensuring these expenditures are accounted for on USAspending.gov. This is a commonsense step toward strengthening public trust, improving fiscal accountability, and ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

Last year, more than $18 billion in government spending was hidden from taxpayers by using OTAs and, from fiscal years 2020-2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that more than $40 billion was hidden from the public through OTAs.

Click here to view the bill text.

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