Congressman Self’s Bill to DOGE State Department Reports, Save Taxpayer Dollars Passes the House Foreign Affairs Committee

The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed Representative Keith Self's bill H.R. 8668, titled the "State Department Recurring Reports Repeal and Sunset Act of 2026." This bill eliminates or sunsets 52 outdated and duplicative reporting requirements and reduces the required frequency of a further 12.

"This bill examines a simple question: Does every recurring report still serve a meaningful purpose?" said Congressman Self during debate. "If the answer for a particular report is yes, then it is retained. In many cases, this bill simply modifies reporting timelines-changing semiannual or quarterly reports into annual reports or adding reasonable sunset dates. But if a report is clearly outdated or no longer useful, this bill repeals it."

The Department of State currently devotes substantial time and resources each year to producing congressionally mandated reports, many of which were enacted decades ago in response to circumstances that have since changed significantly. The Department estimates that simple, one-topic reports require a minimum of 30 personnel hours, which costs at least $2,400 taxpayer dollars. More extensive reports cost the American taxpayer anywhere from $560,000 to approximately five million dollars.

At a time when our nation is over $39 trillion in debt, Congress should not require the Department to write reports simply because "that's how it's always been done." H.R. 8668 represents an ambitious 'spring cleaning' overhaul of required reporting that will save taxpayer dollars while improving Congressional oversight.

"By reducing time spent writing obsolete reports," Congressman Self continued, "the State Department can better focus on the issues that Congress and the President have prioritized and that truly matter-such as America's strategic competition with China, stopping the flow of deadly drugs into our country, enforcing our sanctions laws, and other pressing national security priorities."

H.R. 8668 passed the Committee by voice vote, with three incorporated amendments, and now awaits a vote by the whole House.

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