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PRESS RELEASE: Rep. Curtman, Senator Blunt Team Up for Government Accountability

NEWS

From the Office of

Representative Paul Curtman

 

109th District

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 17, 2015

 

 

CONTACT:  Representative Paul Curtman

                                    (573) 751-3776

 

 

Rep. Curtman, Senator Blunt Team Up for Government Accountability

 

Jefferson City, Mo – Speaking at a joint press conference, State Representative Paul Curtman (R-Union) and U.S. Senator Roy Blunt discussed their bilateral effort to increase accountability in government. 

 

Blunt’s proposal, the sponsor of the Taxpayer Transparency Act in the U.S. Senate, would provide notice on certain bureaucratic advertisements and other publications that the ad in question is “paid for by taxpayers.”  Curtman’s similarly titled proposal would require notice on or in state agency printed, radio, and internet promotional material.

 

“Missourians deserve to know how their taxpayer dollars are spent – especially when that hard-earned money is being used to pay for advertisements to promote ObamaCare and the president’s questionable policies,” said Blunt.  “I’m glad to join State Representative Paul Curtman and Congressman Billy Long as we fight to make government more transparent and accountable.”

 

“I don’t think anybody doubts that sometimes the government needs to communicate with the people through these mediums,” said Curtman, “but a lack of transparency lends itself to tax dollars being spent by politicians in ways that are reckless and self-serving. It’s rather convenient for politicians to get their name out there by running taxpayer funded public service announcements or to sell unpopular ideas to the people with their own money.”

 

Representative Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia), who has filed similar legislation and has been leading the ethics reform discussion in the Missouri House in 2015, applauds Representative Curtman’s efforts. “Our goal from the beginning in the House has been to find meaningful and functional reforms that can be made to ensure the public’s trust in our process. I believe the work Senator Blunt and Representative Curtman are doing fit very well into that category, and will help solidify the public’s trust in their elected officials.”

 

 

During his time in the House, Curtman has consistently worked to help encourage accountability and efficiency in government, including:

 

House Bill 203 which would set aside 15% of energy savings to reinvest in future energy friendly improvements in Missouri’s state building portfolio which spends some $40,000,000 annually on utilities.

 

House Bill 204 which would improve the competitive marketplace for Missouri school district general obligation bond sales.  State Auditor Schweich recently noted that this proposal, if in effect, could have helped Missouri school districts save millions in interest payments.

 

House Bill 205 which encourages efficiency in Missouri’s multi-million dollar fleet of vehicles and would allow the state to purchase standardized commodities at cheaper prices using “reverse auctions”.

 

House Bill 206, which estimates suggest would help the government save between 10-30% in total costs to design, build, and operate state building projects.

 

Curtman has also filed several other proposals aimed at restoring the people’s faith in government by further restricting certain practices that have shown to abuse the pocketbooks of our citizens.

 

“We’ve become all too familiar with the consequences of a government that does not honor its commitment to serve as an agent of freedom and instead attempts to turn into a self-sustaining, revenue generating machine.”  Curtman continued, “Because of the heightened awareness around several foul government practices, now has become the time to let the people decide on red-light cameras, now is the time to stymy municipal government operating budget dependence on community policing, and now is the time to make it clear in state law that police officers shouldn’t be judged based on their citation output.”

 

 

Rep. Curtman resides in Union, Mo and represents much of Franklin County.  As the chair of the Committee on Government Efficiency, his research and work has focused on seeking out ways to save money through efficient operations in Missouri’s multi-billion dollar bureaucracy.  Rep. Curtman has hosted scholars from Arizona State University and Harvard, public sector innovators, and private sector practitioners that collaborate with local, state, and federal bureaucracies to reduce overhead.  For more information on his endeavors, please visit www.downsizingmogov.com

 

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