HR 5301: Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024

HR 5301 in plain English: This law requires federal agencies to include in their annual budget justifications a list of all recurring reports and plans they submit, flagging any that are outdated or duplicative. For each flagged report, agencies must recommend whether to end, modify, consolidate, or reduce it, and explain their reasoning. The Office of Management and Budget must review and make recommendations to Congress on reports required from multiple agencies.

Stated purpose

This law requires federal agencies to identify and flag outdated or duplicative reports they submit to Congress each year, and to recommend whether those reports should be ended, changed, combined, or submitted less often.

Key points

• Agencies must list all recurring reports and plans in their annual budget justifications.
• Agencies must identify which reports are outdated or duplicative and recommend changes.
• For each flagged report, agencies must cite the law or directive requiring it and notify relevant congressional committees.
• The Office of Management and Budget reviews reports required from multiple agencies and recommends action to Congress.

Arguments supporters make

• Agencies spend real staff time and money preparing reports that may no longer serve a purpose, and identifying those reports helps cut waste without eliminating useful oversight.
• Requiring agencies to publicly flag duplicative or outdated requirements in budget documents creates transparency and gives Congress a clear, organized way to clean up the rules it has built up over time.
• The law passed with bipartisan support and became public law, suggesting it addresses a practical, non-ideological problem that lawmakers across parties recognized.

Arguments opponents make

• Agencies deciding which of their own reports are 'useless' creates a conflict of interest, since agencies may recommend eliminating oversight reports they find burdensome rather than truly unnecessary ones.
• Listing and justifying reports is itself a new paperwork requirement added on top of existing ones, which could create more administrative work without guaranteeing Congress will actually act on any recommendation.
• Excluding reports submitted solely to Armed Services committees means some oversight areas are carved out, raising questions about why some reporting requirements receive special protection from review.

Tradeoffs

Reducing paperwork burden on agencies could free up resources and streamline government, but it also risks weakening congressional oversight if agencies successfully recommend ending reports that provide accountability. The law identifies candidates for elimination but leaves the final decision to Congress, so its impact depends entirely on whether Congress follows through.

Current status in Congress: Became law.

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