SCHNEIDER, LYNCH LEAD EFFORT TO HOLD ELON MUSK’S DOGE ACCOUNTABLE

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition and member of the House Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees, introduced legislation today with Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) aimed at securing greater transparency and accountability from Elon Musk’s DOGE. 

The DOGE Accountability and Transparency Act requires DOGE to submit a weekly report to Congress that details changes it implements across federal agencies and identifies expected savings and other impacts. 

“We all want a government that is always looking to improve efficiency and effectiveness, but that is not what Elon Musk is doing at the helm of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency,” said Rep. Schneider. “Musk and his DOGE minions have launched a campaign of chaos across the entirety of our federal government that has diminished the functioning of essential federal services that keep our families healthy, our communities safe, and our privacy secure. Rather than saving money and improving quality of services, DOGE and Musk are more often creating greater inefficiencies and costing taxpayers dearly in wasted resources and lost time.”

Since President Trump took office, DOGE has taken several actions that raised widespread concern and alarm over the consequences of its operations. For example, DOGE has: 

• Consistently lied to American taxpayers about its efforts to cut spending through its error-ridden online tracker;
• Gained access to the private medical, bank account, social security and other sensitive personal data about every American;
• Gained access to the secure payroll system that process salaries for more than 250,000 federal employees, despite the objections of senior IT staff who feared it could make the system vulnerable to terrorist cyberattacks;
• Irresponsibly slashed the IRS workforce, forcing the agency to suspend audits in process and forfeit collecting taxes due to the US Treasury;
• Devastated mental health support for veterans provided through the VA;
• Laid off bird flu leadership and experts despite a bird flu outbreak, disrupting testing efforts;
• Accidentally fired more than 300 employees responsible for overseeing the US’s nuclear stockpile at the National Nuclear Security Administration;
• And much more.

“We should not allow Elon Musk to recklessly take a chainsaw to our federal government; he must answer to Congress and provide real, regular updates on DOGE’s actions,” continued Rep. Schneider. “The richest man in the world, no matter how smart he thinks he is, cannot continue his capricious rampage through the federal government without proper Congressional oversight.” 

“We cannot let President Trump’s version of ‘Wreck-it-Ralph’ distract us while Elon Musk continues to gut agencies that are responsible for providing American families with essential needs and services,” said Rep. Lynch. “We must hold President Trump and Elon Musk accountable for their actions, and this bill will ensure there is proper oversight of DOGE by requiring them to submit weekly reports to Congress so we can ensure that their actions are lawful and individual rights are protected. I am grateful for the partnership of Rep. Schneider and I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure DOGE, Elon Musk, and President Trump are all held accountable for their actions and policies.”

The bill requires the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency Service to provide weekly reports to Congress on any change DOGE has made to each Federal agency, including:

1. The statutory authorization for each change made;
2. Any change in the number of employees at each agency, including the employees that have resigned, been removed, or had their position eliminated;
3. A description of each specific change DOGE has made to the respective Federal agency, including to an office within such agency;
4. Any cost-saving measure;
5. Any policy change;
6. Any physical change to a Federal agency structure or location, including moving a Federal agency to a different building and relocating employees; and
7. A description of any Federal agency data accessed by DOGE, the name of the individual who accessed it, the purpose for that access, and what was done with the data.

The bill also requires retroactive reporting to ensure Congress is made aware of all of DOGE’s actions between January 20, 2025 and the bill’s enactment. 

Bill text is available here.

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