Sen. Cornyn Applauds Obama's Promise To Cut Wasteful Spending

In a statement Tuesday, Senator Cornyn said he looked forward to working with the new President to cut Washington waste.

Cornyn also noted that the Office of Management and Budget had recently said 25% of government were either inefficient, or their efficiency could not be determined. He went on to restate his support for a "Sunset Commission" to end programs that don't work.

The Senator's statement follows:

"I welcome the President-elect's commitment to reform the federal budget process and rein in wasteful government spending. For my part, I look forward to working with President-elect Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress on quickly identifying and eliminating inefficient, ineffective and outdated federal programs.

"Families across Texas, and across the country, are forced to make tough decisions with their own budgets every day, particularly in the current economic climate. It should be no different for the federal government.

"Yet, year after year, too many government programs are funded because there are small—but vocal—special interest groups backing them with little Congressional oversight to determine when ideas have run their course. Already, in an initial analysis of 1,000 federal programs the Office of Management and Budget recently concluded that nearly 25 percent of them were either inefficient, or their efficiency could not be determined.

"That is why I have been a strong advocate for the creation of a Federal Sunset Commission to review federal spending programs. Modeled after Texas' own Sunset Commission, this bipartisan group would be tasked with reviewing federal programs, determining their efficiency, and making recommendations on whether they need reform or should be eliminated all together.

"While I have repeatedly pushed my colleagues in the Senate for this commission, it has never garnered the support it needs from the Democratic leadership. As the new session of Congress begins and President-elect Obama takes office, I will once again introduce my bill for a Federal Sunset Commission.

"If President-elect Obama is sincere in his pledge to work in a bipartisan manner and reform Washington spending habits, he will find a willing partner. I look forward to working with the President-elect, his economic team, and my colleagues in Congress to start tackling wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars."