Pryor's actions against waste

Following a news report revealing that federal agencies are spending $890,000 annually to maintain 13,000 empty bank accounts, U.S. Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Mark Begich (D-AK) today pressed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to eliminate wasteful spending in federal agencies.

“This is an example of wasteful government spending at its worst,” Pryor said. “We’ve taken steps to pare down our spending, but we must do more. The OMB needs to take note of our letter, and swiftly enact measures to cut spending, improve efficiency, and get the most bang for our buck.”

“The government needs to be more efficient, period. While $890,000 may not seem like much to some folks here in Washington, this is just another case of careless spending that needs to be stopped. That is why I’m glad I could join Sen. Pryor in highlighting these wasteful accounts,” Begich said. “I will be pushing the administration to take steps to fix this misuse of taxpayer dollars in the coming weeks and will continue to look for ways to cut the deficit.”

Pryor and Begich have continually teamed up on common-sense legislation to reduce deficit spending. In 2012, they joined a bipartisan group of senators on a bill to purge unnecessary federal property, end ongoing maintenance expenses, and establish a framework for federal agencies to better manage existing space in a more cost-effective manner. The federal government owns more than 14,000 excess and 45,000 underutilized buildings that cost more than $1.7 billion annually to operate.