Heller calls for audit of Senate operations to find spending cuts

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said Monday that the Senate should be audited to identify wasteful spending in its operations budget.

In a letter to Senate Rules Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Heller said that he’s ready to make recommendations on areas in the Senate operations budget that could be eliminated and that an independent audit would help reduce the nearly $17 trillion deficit.

“By having a full understanding of how and where funding within the Senate is allocated, we can create accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars while also taking an important step toward a fiscally austere Congress,” Heller wrote.

Heller pointed out that in 1995 the House conducted an audit that resulted in $20 million of savings and that the Senate has not done the same.

“In 1995, the House of Representatives hired outside counsel to audit the operations of the House, and it was found that accounting procedures were lacking and incomplete; House Rules were inconsistently applied and contradicted; and various House support services were either wasteful or unnecessary,” the letter stated. “That was nearly two decades ago, and to our knowledge, the Senate has never initiated such a procedure.”

Heller said that if the Senate considered his proposal, it would show that lawmakers are leading by example in cutting wasteful government spending.

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