The House debated H.R. 2069, the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025, which would require federal agencies to report spending under other transaction agreements — contractual arrangements outside standard procurement rules — on the public USAspending.gov website, and would require Treasury and agency inspectors general to post related reports. Members from both parties spoke in favor, saying taxpayers deserve to see how billions of dollars in federal spending are used, and supporters called for the bill’s passage.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .
“I want the House to pass this bill. It makes government agencies list all their special spending agreements on the USAspending website.”
“Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2069) to amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to ensure that other transaction agreements are reported to USAspending.gov, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:”
Official Congressional Record
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2069) to amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to ensure that other transaction agreements are reported to USAspending.gov, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:
“I support this bill. Right now, government agencies spend billions of dollars through special deals that they do not have to report to the public spending website. This bill requires them to report that spending so taxpayers can see how their money is used.”
“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I 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. The 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. 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. 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. Agencies use different methods to report the billions of dollars in spending related to OTAs, according to the Government Accountability Office. 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. 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. 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, I urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I 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. The 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. 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. 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. Agencies use different methods to report the billions of dollars in spending related to OTAs, according to the Government Accountability Office. 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. 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. 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, I urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
“I want the House to pass this bill. It makes federal agencies report all of their spending agreements on the government's public website so taxpayers can see where their money goes.”
“Madam Speaker, the American people work hard for every dollar they send to Washington, and they deserve to know how every one of those dollars is spent. That is the simple principle behind the Stop Secret Spending Act. Federal agencies have been able to spend billions of taxpayer dollars through what are known as other transaction agreements, or OTAs, without fully reporting those expenditures on usaspending.gov. These agreements may have legitimate uses, but the American people should not have to wonder whether Federal spending is being disclosed or not. When our national debt is approaching $40 trillion, transparency is not optional. It is a responsibility. This bill closes a loophole that has allowed significant amounts of Federal spending to remain outside the public reporting system. It does not ban OTAs. It does not create unnecessary red tape. It simply requires the agencies to report these agreements so taxpayers can see where their money is going. Every family in Alabama knows where their money is spent. Farmers know where they money is spent. Small business owners know where their money is spent. The Federal Government should be held to that same standard. Sunlight is one of the best safeguards against waste, fraud, and abuse. Transparency helps Congress do its job. It helps taxpayers hold Washington accountable, and it helps restore trust in government. That is common sense. That is accountability. That is exactly what the American people expect from their government. Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support the Stop Secret Spending Act.”
Official Congressional Record
Madam Speaker, the American people work hard for every dollar they send to Washington, and they deserve to know how every one of those dollars is spent. That is the simple principle behind the Stop Secret Spending Act. Federal agencies have been able to spend billions of taxpayer dollars through what are known as other transaction agreements, or OTAs, without fully reporting those expenditures on usaspending.gov. These agreements may have legitimate uses, but the American people should not have to wonder whether Federal spending is being disclosed or not. When our national debt is approaching $40 trillion, transparency is not optional. It is a responsibility. This bill closes a loophole that has allowed significant amounts of Federal spending to remain outside the public reporting system. It does not ban OTAs. It does not create unnecessary red tape. It simply requires the agencies to report these agreements so taxpayers can see where their money is going. Every family in Alabama knows where their money is spent. Farmers know where they money is spent. Small business owners know where their money is spent. The Federal Government should be held to that same standard. Sunlight is one of the best safeguards against waste, fraud, and abuse. Transparency helps Congress do its job. It helps taxpayers hold Washington accountable, and it helps restore trust in government. That is common sense. That is accountability. That is exactly what the American people expect from their government. Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support the Stop Secret Spending Act.
“I want my colleagues to vote for this bill. It will show the public and Congress how federal agencies spend our tax dollars.”
“Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important governmentwide Federal spending transparency reform bill that will help the public and Congress understand exactly how Federal agencies are using the very limited tax dollars that we have, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important governmentwide Federal spending transparency reform bill that will help the public and Congress understand exactly how Federal agencies are using the very limited tax dollars that we have, and I yield back the balance of my time.
