Senator Joni Ernst’s New Bill to Address Federal Spending
Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, is set to unveil a bill aimed at tackling bureaucratic inefficiency by mandating annual audits of federal expenditures.
The Year-End Fiscal Responsibility Act will require federal agencies to conduct self-audits within 60 days after the close of each fiscal year. Agencies must also publicly disclose their spending in detail on a designated website. Additionally, the legislation states that spending in the last two months of the fiscal year cannot exceed the average monthly expenditure over the previous ten months.
In early February, Senator Ernst introduced another initiative, called the “Review of Every Check and Every Invoice (Receipt) Act.” This proposed law calls for a thorough audit of the Army Department’s finances by 2028, incorporating artificial intelligence to assist in the process. Ernst expressed to DCNF that this approach enables agencies to “prioritize what’s really needed.”
She noted, “Rather than promoting a ‘Christmas in September’ mentality, my Year-End Fiscal Responsibility Act seeks to ensure that agencies focus on essential needs—like the timely deployment of troops—rather than scrambling for funds at the end of the fiscal year.”
Ernst pointed out that under the federal government’s “use it or lose it” policy, the Department of the Army spent an astonishing $93 billion in September 2025 alone. This rule can pressure agencies to exhaust their budgets, else risk a funding cut in the next fiscal year. “The ‘use it or lose it’ model has fostered waste in government for years,” Ernst explained. “We need stronger accountability regarding how American taxpayers’ money is utilized.”
Over the past year, the Trump administration has aimed to downsize the federal government, achieving its smallest workforce in over a decade by December 2025. Additionally, the State Department managed to cut its budget by nearly $2 billion in its first year. In contrast, in January 2026, the House approved $1.3 trillion in federal funding spread across two bills.
