Three Texas congressmen this week said they will introduce legislation that would force agencies to justify their existence every 10 years.
At a press conference in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Democratic Reps. Jim Turner and Lloyd Doggett and Republican Rep. Kevin Brady unveiled a bill that would apply Texas' "sunset" review process to the entire federal government. The bill will be officially introduced next week.
"We need a little more Texas thinking in Washington," Doggett said.
The sunset legislation would create a 12-member bipartisan commission of legislators and private citizens to evaluate all agencies. The commission would recommend which, if any, of the agencies should be abolished, streamlined or consolidated.
Texas has closed 42 agencies, streamlined eight others and saved taxpayers $630 million since it implemented the sunset review process in 1977, the House members said.
A sunset commission would make up for the fragmented structure of congressional committees, Brady said.
"We look at the trees, we investigate the bark, we look carefully at the roots, but the forest oftentimes goes untouched," he said.
The bill would require Congress to review most federal programs at least once every 10 years. Brady pushed the idea two years ago in the 105th Congress as well, gathering 81 co-sponsors for a similar bill.