Statement on Signing the Congressional Reports Elimination Act of 1986

I have signed S. 992, the Congressional Reports Elimination Act of 1986. This act eliminates or modifies a number of statutory reporting requirements. Federal agencies are required by law to report to Congress on a wide variety of subjects at specified intervals. These reporting requirements impose a considerable workload on the executive branch. S. 992 represents congressional action on an administration proposal to repeal or modify reporting requirements if they no longer serve a useful purpose, the information required is available from other sources, or the cost and time required to prepare a report outweigh any benefit to the public or the Congress.

While I am disappointed the great majority of the repeals or modifications of reporting requirements proposed by the administration were not adopted by the Congress, the passage of S. 992 does demonstrate congressional recognition of the problem of burdensome reporting requirements. We will continue to work with the Congress to eliminate other unnecessary, redundant, or otherwise inappropriate reporting requirements.