Washington, D.C. — This week, the House of Representatives passed the Stop Secret Spending Act, bipartisan legislation Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) helped lead to force the federal government to disclose billions of dollars in spending currently kept off the public books. Goodlander is one of the original cosponsors of the bill and has been a leading voice in Congress for cracking down on corruption and making every federal dollar traceable by the people who pay for it: American taxpayers.

“Public service is a public trust, and the American people have a right to know how every taxpayer dollar is being spent,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “I am proud to be building a bipartisan coalition in Congress dedicated to a commonsense idea: end secret government spending. Sunlight is the best disinfectant in the fight to crack down on corruption, and our bill will stop secret spending by closing loopholes and giving independent watchdogs the tools they need to hold government accountable. I won’t quit until we get this bill signed into law.”

Last year, the federal government spent a total of $7 trillion taxpayer dollars, and billions of dollars were secretly spent. For example, at the Department of Defense alone, the Government Accountability Office identified $77.5 billion in secret spending between fiscal years 2021 and 2025 that were never reported to USAspending.gov. 

This secret spending has been made possible in part by legally binding arrangements outside standard government contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements known as Other Transaction Agreements, or OTAs. OTAs can help the federal government move quickly and work with new partners, but are exempt from many federal procurement laws and requirements. That exemption has created a loophole that allows agencies to hide billions of dollars in spending from USAspending.gov — leaving taxpayers and Congress in the dark about their money is going and why.

The bipartisan bill Goodlander helped lead would require the Department of the Treasury to ensure OTA data is automatically transmitted to USAspending.gov and presented in a centralized view. The Treasury would also publish an annual report identifying the total amount of federal-award spending that has not been posted and explaining why the data remains unavailable. For 10 years after enactment, Inspectors General at specified agencies would periodically assess the quality of agency spending data and compliance with federal data standards.

The Stop Secret Spending Act is led by Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL), and Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) with Goodlander as an original cosponsor. 

The bill advanced unanimously out of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform by a vote of 40 to 0 before passing the full House. Companion legislation led by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) passed the Senate unanimously earlier this year.

Goodlander has made cracking down on corruption and cleaning up government a central focus of her work in Congress:

• Goodlander is leading the bipartisan Public Service Accountability Act to close ethics loopholes and prohibit senior officials across all three branches of government from trading individual stocks or participating in prediction markets.

• Goodlander has repeatedly pushed for greater accountability and transparency at the Pentagon so taxpayers can see how their money is being spent. As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, she is leading oversight and legislative efforts to force the Department of Defense to conduct and pass a full independent audit, press Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior Pentagon officials on the Pentagon’s audit failures and delayed budget, and securing provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act strengthening oversight of Pentagon financial systems and moving the department closer to a clean audit.

• She has worked across party lines to bring greater accountability and competition to Pentagon contracting and stop corporate restrictions from wasting taxpayer dollars. She helped secure a new system to track defense contractors’ compliance with repair-data requirements, helped introduce the bipartisan Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025, and co-led a bipartisan amendment adopted by the House Armed Services Committee to strengthen the military’s ability to repair its own equipment.

• Goodlander has used independent oversight, legislation, and the courts to challenge waste and unauthorized government spending. She joined a call for an Inspector General investigation after the State Department destroyed taxpayer-funded emergency food and millions of dollars’ worth of contraceptives; helped introduce the Strengthening Uniform Procedures to Prevent Loss, Incineration, and Expiration of Supplies (SUPPLIES) Act to prevent similar waste; and joined a legal brief challenging a proposed $400 million White House ballroom that Congress had neither authorized nor funded.

• Goodlander has fought to ensure that Members of Congress are held accountable to the same people they serve. She cosponsored the bipartisan CLEAN Act, which would make the Office of Congressional Ethics permanent; asked the House to withhold her own salary during a government shutdown; and cosponsored the bipartisan No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act, which would prevent lawmakers from being paid when Congress fails to fund the government.

• Goodlander is a champion for small businesses and is a cosponsor of the Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act, requiring greater disclosure when federal contracting opportunities for small businesses are canceled. The House passed the legislation.

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