# Plain Language Summary: Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2025

This bill creates a new way for federal employees to earn cash bonuses by identifying wasteful government spending. Currently, federal agencies can reward employees who report fraud or mismanagement, but this bill specifically adds "wasteful expenses" as something employees can be rewarded for identifying. When an employee spots money that an agency isn't actually using for its intended purpose—like unused funds in a budget account—they can report it to their agency's Chief Financial Officer. If the CFO agrees the money is truly wasteful, the employee can receive a cash bonus for the tip.

The bill doubles the maximum bonus an employee can receive from $10,000 to $20,000 for identifying wasteful spending. This is meant to incentivize federal workers to pay attention to budget waste and speak up about it. Once an employee identifies wasteful expenses that the CFO confirms, the agency head is supposed to notify the President so those expenses can be proposed for cancellation through the federal budget process. The bill also requires agencies to publicly report how many of these bonuses they're giving out and how much money they're saving from employee tips.

There are some limits on who can receive these bonuses. Employees who work for an agency's Inspector General office cannot get bonuses, and neither can anyone already ineligible under existing federal employee award rules. The Office of Personnel Management will oversee the program to make sure agencies follow the rules, and Congress will receive annual reports confirming compliance. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office will review how well the program is working every three years and suggest any changes needed.

Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2025

Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck"

Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of&nbsp;2025This bill expands the awards program for cost-saving identifications by federal employees of fraud, waste, or mismanagement to include identifications of certain operational expenses that are wasteful (i.e., that are identified as wasteful by an employee and that an agency determines are not required for the purposes for which the amounts were made available). An agency must propose any identified wasteful expenses for rescission.The bill also doubles the maximum cash award that may be made under the program.