Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have outlined an ambitious reform agenda for the new Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut wasteful spending across the federal government. But they can’t do it alone. To help DOGE and the new administration identify and implement cost-saving measures, Congress will need to join the fight.
On Monday, Senator Joni Ernst showed the potential for collaboration between DOGE and Congress, writing a letter to Musk and Ramaswamy highlighting examples of government waste. For example, she pointed to 7,697 vacant government buildings, 5,800 IRS employees who owe back taxes, and 15,000 millionaires who collected unemployment insurance. She also highlighted the Pentagon’s estimate of $125 billion spent on “bloated bureaucracy and inefficiency” within the Defense Department, $1.6 trillion in unspent federal funds that have been appropriated but not yet obligated, and $42 billion in broadband subsidies from the Biden administration’s “so-called infrastructure program” that has not yet connected anyone to the Internet.
Senator Ernst’s letter provides a useful example of how lawmakers should engage with DOGE. Lawmakers have spent years attending committee hearings, learning about government programs, and conducting oversight of the executive branch. Now, they should bring that knowledge to bear to help Musk and Ramaswamy achieve their mission.
First, all members of Congress should follow Senator Ernst’s example and provide topline recommendations for areas to achieve savings. For decades, members of Congress have been publishing reports exposing government waste, federal agency reform blueprints, and oversight letters identifying opportunities for reform. Too often, these reports and letters have not led to meaningful change. Now is the time to carry out these recommendations.
Second, committees should use their oversight powers to spotlight new areas for potential savings and reform for DOGE and the new administration. Musk and Ramaswamy have outlined plans to review existing federal rules and regulations that should be suspended following recent Supreme Court decisions, citing the need to correct executive branch overreach. They also plan to downsize the federal workforce. Lawmakers are well positioned to identify areas of regulatory overreach. They should also conduct additional fact-finding oversight to inform DOGE’s planned reform agenda, such as by identifying current in-person staffing levels to assess whether agencies have complied with President Biden’s August 2023 call for federal employees to return to the office.
Third, authorizing committees should review expired authorizations for appropriations to help DOGE and the new administration identify which programs should be reauthorized and which should go on the chopping block. Musk and Ramaswamy have pointed to the more than $500 billion spent annually on federal programs with expired authorizations as a potential source for cost savings. The Congressional Budget Office’s annual reports show that the list of expired programs includes key federal programs that shouldn’t be cut, such as veterans’ health benefits. Authorizing committees have a responsibility to review expired authorizations of appropriations within their jurisdiction to identify programs that should be reauthorized and updated to reflect the nation’s current needs.
Fourth, Congress should ask federal agency Inspectors General to review their recommendations for federal agencies to identify which changes could achieve substantial cost savings. Congress already provided a roadmap for hundreds of billions in savings when it required the Government Accountability Office to estimate potential savings from implementing its recommendations for federal agencies and Congress. Lawmakers should similarly require federal agency Inspectors General to review the 14,500 Inspector General recommendations and identify which should be prioritized.
Fifth, some lawmakers and committees that have been working for years to address intractable problems like federal improper payments (which totaled $236 billion in 2023) and widespread fraud (which costs $233–521 billion annually). They should now provide insight about why past efforts to solve these problems have failed. Such advice could help DOGE prevent hundreds of billions in federal misspending.
The DOGE co-chairs have already made clear that they welcome input from Congress; Musk and Ramaswamy both thanked Senator Ernst on X for her recommendations. Now, other members of Congress should follow her example and bring their best cost-cutting reform ideas forward.
