Eric Burlison · TranslatePolitics.com

House of Representatives

Recognizing Joe Cooper

2026-09-01

“Joe the Barber is a nice man. Joe cuts hair for many years. Joe tells jokes and stories. Joe likes the Cardinals. Joe retires now. I like Joe. Good job Joe.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Joe Cooper of Springfield, better known to a lot of folks as ``Joe the Barber.'' Joe has been cutting hair in Springfield since 1970 and has owned Cooper's Clippers since 1983. For five decades, Joe has cut hair. He has cut my hair. He has cut my father's hair. He has cut the hair of nearly everyone I know. Joe has told jokes. He has told stories. They solve the problems of the world right there in the barber shop, and he has gotten to know generations of Springfield families. He is also a huge Cardinals fan. Joe has accurately called the Dodgers the best team that money could buy. So if you are a Dodgers fan sitting in his chair, you may want to keep that to yourself until the haircut is finished. Ask Joe what he will miss most, and his answer is simple: The people. I congratulate Joe on 56 years behind the chair, and I thank him for being such a memorable part of the Springfield community. I wish him a joyous retirement, and go Cardinals.

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House of Representatives

Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2026

2026-07-20

“I want this bill to pass. It will protect whistleblowers who are contractors. They should be able to report fraud and abuse without fear. The government should not retaliate against them. This bill will stop retaliation. I worked with people from both parties on this. I want everyone to support it.”

Official Congressional Record

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, every person employed by the Federal Government should have adequate protection from retaliation for speaking out against fraud, waste, or abuse of taxpayer dollars. However, contractors with the Federal Government have different whistleblower protections than typical government employees. The Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General found that a lack of whistleblower protections for contractors discouraged them from coming forward. This isn't surprising. It is a difficult decision for someone to come forward and risk their job and their livelihood. The Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act would address this by strengthening whistleblower protections for Federal contractors by prohibiting reprisals for certain actions. Such actions could include disclosure of information the protected individual believes is evidence of mismanagement, waste, abuse, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety related to a contract or grant. I thank House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Garcia for his work on this important bill with Chairman Comer and recognize Senators Gary Peters and Chuck Grassley for their steadfast leadership on these necessary reforms. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan and bicameral bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want this bill to pass. It will protect whistleblowers from retaliation. The government should not punish people for reporting wrongdoing. That is my whole speech.”

House of Representatives

Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act

2026-07-20

“I want this bill to pass. I want the government to watch how it spends money. I want the people to see how the government spends their money. That will help stop the government from wasting money.”

“I want to know when projects cost too much money or take too long. This bill will make the government tell us about those projects every year. We should pass this bill so we can fix problems before they get worse.”

Official Congressional Record

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, Congress cannot sit on the sidelines while government projects continue to soar above cost projections and run behind schedule. Each year, the Government Accountability Office reports on such projects, including Federal information technology programs and National Nuclear Security Administration projects. However, there are likely additional government boondoggles flying under the radar, falling years behind schedule, or running billions of dollars over budget. The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act will keep policymakers and the public better informed about government-funded projects that are significantly behind schedule or over budget. We cannot fix what we do not know is broken. This bill directs agencies to report on projects that are more than 5 years behind schedule or have expenditures that are at least $1 billion more than the original cost estimate. The Office of Management and Budget is then required to submit an annual report to Congress summarizing these troubled Federal projects. Congress has a duty to oversee the Federal Government for inefficiency and waste. This bill informs policymakers and allows Congress to address failing government projects before further taxpayer dollars are misused. A similar bill passed the House in the 118th Congress as S. 1258, and the identical bill, S. 766, sponsored by Senator Joni Ernst, passed the Senate in December 2025. I thank Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Yassamin Ansari for their work on the House companion bill. It is time to get this bill sent to the President's desk. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want the government to make a list of expensive projects that are late and over budget. The government should tell us about these projects every year.”

House of Representatives

Federal Relocation Payment Improvement Act

2026-07-20

“I want this bill to pass. It will save money. It will make some government workers' lives better.”

“I want to pass this bill. This bill will make it easier and cheaper for the government to move government workers. It is expensive for the government to move workers now. There are a lot of rules and steps. It costs a lot of money. The government has tried something different. It gives workers one payment to move themselves. This is easier. It costs less money. Workers like it better. Passing this bill will let all government agencies do this. It will save the government money.”

Official Congressional Record

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, relocating Federal employees who receive assignments to change official duty stations is a costly and bureaucratic process. According to the General Services Administration, which manages such relocations, in fiscal year 2024, the cost for employee relocation across agencies ranged from $11,000 to a staggering $143,000 per employee. This high cost contrasts with the private sector, where relocation costs are considerably less. In fact, current law and regulations require seven categories of mandatory relocation entitlements and another six discretionary. This complexity diverts Federal agency resources that could otherwise be available for other mission-focused priorities. It also comes at the expense of Federal employee satisfaction, as those relocating are forced to navigate a prolonged bureaucratic maze of document filings and payment processes. Fortunately, there is a tested alternative to the current system, as demonstrated by agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and Customs and Border Protection in a recent pilot program. Those agencies have utilized this pilot program to provide negotiated, lump-sum payments to relocating employees who are then responsible for moving themselves. The simplified lump-sum payments and processes have already been demonstrated to reduce agency costs while boosting employee satisfaction. This bill would expand and codify the successful pilot program to allow all agencies to provide these lump-sum payments to relocating employees when such alternative is the most cost-effective option. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that enacting H.R. 6330 would save the government $306 million over 5 years. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for offering this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor. I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want to pass a bill. This bill will pay government workers when the government moves them. The government will pay them in one payment.”

House of Representatives

Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act

2026-07-20

“I agree with what the other guy said. I want this bill to pass. I think it will help the government buy things better. I don't have anything new to add.”

“I want my bill to pass. It will train government workers to be better at buying technology. It will raise some spending limits. This will make buying easier. It will make costs lower. It will save money. It will not make government bigger. It is good for taxpayers.”

Official Congressional Record

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the FIT Procurement Act. Hardworking taxpayers expect the Federal Government to be a responsible steward of their hard-earned dollars. They make tough financial decisions every day, and they rightly expect Washington to exercise the same discipline and restraint. Too often, however, our Federal procurement system does the opposite. It rewards inefficiency, layers on unnecessary administrative burdens, and slows down agency operations, all at the expense of the taxpayer. These inefficiencies drive up costs and limit agencies in their ability to deliver timely and effective results. My bill, the FIT Procurement Act, addresses these challenges through targeted, commonsense reforms in the Federal procurement process. The legislation focuses on reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, improving coordination across agencies, and strengthening the acquisition workforce through better training and clearer guidance. To improve workforce capability, the bill requires the Director of Federal Acquisition Institute to develop and implement cross-functional information and communications technology training for acquisition professionals. This ensures those responsible for purchasing information and communication technology have the tools and knowledge needed to make smart, cost-effective decisions. The FIT Procurement Act also increases efficiency by expanding the use of simplified, commercial-style purchasing. It raises the micro- purchase threshold from $10,000 to $25,000 and the simplified acquisition threshold from $250,000 to $500,000. Purchases under the micro-purchase threshold require no contracting officer involvement and significantly reduce the administrative overhead. Raising this threshold alone is estimated to save more than $40 million annually while allowing contracting officers to focus on larger, higher-risk acquisitions where oversight matters the most. Increasing the simplified acquisition threshold further reduces administrative costs and improves economic efficiency for small businesses that are competing for Federal contracts. In addition, the FIT Procurement Act authorizes advanced payments for cloud computing services, allowing Federal agencies to access the same upfront payment discounts that are commonly available in the private sector, delivering additional savings to our taxpayers. Taken together, these reforms streamline procurement, reduce wasteful spending, and improve accountability without expanding government or creating new bureaucracy, ultimately leading to disciplined acquisition practices and real savings for the American taxpayer. I thank Chairman Comer for his leadership and commitment to advancing this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want this bill to pass. I want the government to buy more technology. This bill will make the government buy more technology. That's my whole speech.”

House of Representatives

Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025

2026-07-20

“I want my colleagues to support this bill. The bill will help people understand how the government spends their tax money. The government has a limited amount of money.”

“I want this bill to pass. The government should put all its spending online. People should see how the government spends their money. Some spending is secret now. That is bad. This bill will show all the secret spending to the people.”

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.

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“I want this bill to pass. The government should put its spending online. People should see how the government spends their money.”

House of Representatives

Ensuring Federal Purchasing Efficiency Act

2026-07-20

“I want this bill to pass. It will make it easier for the government to buy things. It will be easier for companies to sell to the government. You should support it.”

“I want the government to change how it buys things. The government should update the rules more often. Updating the rules will save money and help small businesses. I want everyone to support this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Ensuring Federal Purchasing Efficiency Act is a simple, commonsense reform to government procurement. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council is required to adjust certain dollar thresholds, such as the simplified acquisition threshold, every 5 years. However, everyone has seen how quickly the value of money can move in just 5 years. This bill would simply require these thresholds to be updated every 3 years instead of every 5 years. These dollar thresholds define the applicability of different policies, procedures, and restrictions to the procurement of property or services needed by Federal agencies to achieve their missions. Raising these dollar thresholds more frequently saves taxpayer dollars on administrative costs and increases competition to do business with the government, especially for small businesses. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important government efficiency reform legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want the government to change the rules for how it buys things.”

House of Representatives

Value over Cost Act of 2026

2026-07-20

“I want this bill to pass. It changes how the government buys things. The government should look for value, not the cheapest price. The cheapest price can cost more in the long run. Our defense agencies already buy this way. Changing this will help the government buy technology. I thank other Representatives who helped with this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support the Value Over Cost Act, H.R. 1118, which modernizes the General Services Administration's governmentwide Multiple Award Schedule program. GSA's Multiple Award Schedule program is the Federal Government's most-used contracting procedure for commercial products and services. Federal agencies rely on the Multiple Award Schedule to purchase the best commercial products, services, and solutions at the best price. Currently, GSA is required to evaluate the ``lowest overall cost alternative'' when determining what will be available on the Multiple Award Schedule. This requires a burdensome process that can actually lead to higher prices over time as contractors pass hidden administrative or ongoing support costs along to the Federal Government. This bill allows GSA to consider awarding contracts based on the best value instead of the lowest overall cost alternative. This reform mirrors a change that was made in fiscal year 2026 in the National Defense Authorization Act, putting the civilian agencies on equal footing with our defense agencies. This bill will maximize the Federal Government's ability to get the best value when procuring modern technology. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Byron Donalds and Jared Moskowitz for their leadership on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this targeted government efficiency bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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“I want to pass this bill. I want the government to spend money in a different way than it does now. I want the government to spend through a multiple award schedule program. I have other ideas. The clerk reads the title of the bill.”