Billy Long: We need to know what taxpayer dollars are funding and promoting

In his latest report, Seventh District Congressman Billy Long writes about his Taxpayer Transparency Act.

Right now, government agencies are not required to disclose on advertisements that they are the publishers behind them or that their advertisements are paid for with the public’s money. People should not have to play detective to find out what their government is doing.

I believe it is important, in the interest of transparency and government accountability, for the public to know exactly what taxpayer dollars are funding and promoting; that is why I introduced the Taxpayer Transparency Act.

The Taxpayer Transparency Act requires federal agencies to disclose that any educational or advertising materials they fund are paid for at taxpayer expense. This includes mediums such as printed mailers, brochures, television and radio advertisements, billboards, and emails. Specifically, printed communications are required to state this disclosure in clearly legible font, type size and must be separated from all other content by a printed box. Television and radio advertisements are required to have a voiceover stating that the communication is recorded at taxpayer expense, with television also requiring a statement meeting the same requirements as printed communications.

The House and Senate already operate with this type of transparency requirement. By law, the House is required to include a disclosure statement on similar types of communication such as newsletters and franked mail, while the U.S. Senate is required to do the same by self-imposed rules.

My Taxpayer Transparency Act unanimously passed the House in February. My bill is one of many bills that remain stuck in the Senate.

Government cannot be held accountable unless the people know what their government is doing. My bill will help pull back the curtain on Executive Branch spending by requiring greater transparency in terms of spending, and that’s an objective I hope everyone can get behind.