House Administration Continues to Aid the House in Spending Less & Operating Effectively

WASHINGTON – Committee on House Administration Chairman Candice Miller (R-MI) made the following statement touting the effective operations of the U.S. House of Representatives over the past year:

“Over the past four years since the Republicans took control of the House, we have dedicated ourselves to furthering effective government while protecting the taxpayer dollar. The House received its sixteenth consecutive 'clean' audit, demonstrating our regard for transparency and accountability for the taxpayer dollar. The House also led the effort in ending the millions of dollars in taxpayer funding previously provided to host political party conventions and redirected that funding for pediatric research. Together with the House Officers, the House has worked to prioritize its resources and rein in costs, as well as increase the level of transparency, accountability and public access to our operations. We have also worked hard to increase the availability of low-cost digital tools to improve our daily functions, and most importantly, have a dynamic discussion with our constituents. Good policies and effective oversight provide for a more accountable government, and the Committee is dedicated to carrying these priorities into 2015.”

Highlights:
The House received an unqualified or ‘‘clean’’ opinion on its financial statements and internal controls over financial reporting for the FY 2013. This was the sixteenth consecutive ‘‘clean’’ audit the House has received.

The Committee continued to work with House Leadership and Legislative Branch Appropriations to reduce overall costs and efficiently manage House operations. Over the past four years the cumulative taxpayer savings are estimated to be $594 million, calculated using FY 2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations as the baseline.

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act (H.R. 2019) was sponsored by Committee on House Administration Member Representative Gregg Harper (MS-03), passed both the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law on April 3, 2014. H.R. 2019 ends $126 million in taxpayer funding for political party conventions and redirects that funding to the National Institutes of Health and pediatric research.

The Committee continued the mission to ensure our system of open, free and fair elections remains at the highest level of integrity by examining the report of the Bauer-Ginsberg Commission which focused on utilizing good, local governance over elections, and made recommendations on different ideas to help locals improve upon their own voting process.

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