Analysis · Speech on a bill · beta

Eric Burlison

Republican on Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025 2026-07-20

337 words · 19 sentences · 24 clauses

Statement grade

Average 94 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Procedure 10%Claims 85%The ask 5%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Madam Speaker, Procedure · 9 wordsI yield myself such time as I may consume.Procedure Madam Speaker, Procedure · 25 wordsI support this bill, H.R. 2069, the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025, which requires Federal agencies to report complete and accurate information to USAspending.gov.Procedure Claims · 285 wordsThe Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, as later amended by the DATA Act of 2014, established USAspending.gov, a public database of all government spending.¹ It is critical that government spending is transparent to the American people so that they can be assured that agencies are appropriately using their hard-earned tax dollars. Transparency is fundamental in building trust in government. For 20 years, agencies have been required to be more transparent with how they are spending taxpayer dollars, but, unfortunately, gaps have been identified in what gets reported to USAspending.gov by Federal agencies.Hidden agency Increasingly, Federal agencies have relied upon spending authorities known as other transaction agreements, or OTAs. OTAs are not subject to certain Federal acquisition laws and requirements and, most importantly, are not required to be reported to USAspending.gov under current law.² Agencies use different methods to report the billions of dollars in spending related to OTAs, according to the Government Accountability Office.³ This has led to inconsistent reporting and unreliable information, resulting in a lack of full transparency over how billions of dollars are spent by Federal agencies. To be clear, the DATA Act of 2014 intended for all Federal spending to be captured on USAspending.gov. The Stop Secret Spending Act corrects this issue by requiring OTA spending to be reported to USAspending.gov.⁴ The bill also requires agencies to report annually on types of funding that previously were unreported for a variety of exemptions. Lastly, it restores the requirement for agency inspectors general to review the entirety of data submitted to USAspending.gov to ensure that it is complete and accurate.⁵ H.R. 2069 will provide more transparency to the American people. It allows taxpayers to hold agencies accountable for how they spend your money. Madam Speaker, The ask · 18 wordsI urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 89

4 of 5 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I yield myself such time as I may consume.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I support this bill, H.R.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “2069, the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025,”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “which requires Federal agencies to report complete and accurate information to USAspending.gov.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · 100

0 of 5 deductions are Relevance

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the bill under debate.

Nothing lost points.

Reasoning · 93

0 of 5 deductions are Reasoning

Reasoning checks for sound logic and solid support for any conclusion. A low score means the speaker made unsupported leaps or used weak arguments.

Nothing lost points.

Conclusions found · 2

Conclusion“2069 will provide more transparency to the American people.”

Because“OTAs are not subject to certain Federal acquisition laws and requirements and, most importantly, are not required to be reported to USAspending.gov under current law.”

“This has led to inconsistent reporting and unreliable information, resulting in a lack of full transparency over how billions of dollars are spent by Federal agencies.”

“The Stop Secret Spending Act corrects this issue by requiring OTA spending to be reported to USAspending.gov.”

“The bill also requires agencies to report annually on types of funding that previously were unreported for a variety of exemptions.”

“Lastly, it restores the requirement for agency inspectors general to review the entirety of data submitted to USAspending.gov to ensure that it is complete and accurate.”

Reason given
Conclusion“I urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation,”

Because“The Stop Secret Spending Act corrects this issue by requiring OTA spending to be reported to USAspending.gov.”

“The bill also requires agencies to report annually on types of funding that previously were unreported for a variety of exemptions.”

“Lastly, it restores the requirement for agency inspectors general to review the entirety of data submitted to USAspending.gov to ensure that it is complete and accurate.”

“2069 will provide more transparency to the American people.”

“It allows taxpayers to hold agencies accountable for how they spend your money.”

Reason given

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 95

1 of 5 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Wording that hides who did something, or who will.What the tags mean “gaps have been identified”The passive does not say who identified the gaps, though the speaker later cites the GAO.

Claims · 5

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“as later amended by the DATA Act of 2014, established USAspending.gov, a public database of all government spending.”The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, as amended by the DATA Act of 2014, established USAspending.gov as a public database of government spending.search
2“OTAs are not subject to certain Federal acquisition laws and requirements and, most importantly, are not required to be reported to USAspending.gov under current law”Under current law, other transaction agreements are not required to be reported to USAspending.gov and are not subject to certain federal acquisition laws.search
3“Agencies use different methods to report the billions of dollars in spending related to OTAs, according to the Government Accountability Office”The Government Accountability Office has found that federal agencies use different methods to report OTA-related spending.search
4“The Stop Secret Spending Act corrects this issue by requiring OTA spending to be reported to USAspending.gov”The Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025 requires OTA spending to be reported to USAspending.gov.search
5“it restores the requirement for agency inspectors general to review the entirety of data submitted to USAspending.gov”H.R. 2069 restores the requirement for agency inspectors general to review all data submitted to USAspending.gov.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15