"President-elect Trump is giving Americans hope that the era of unaccountable government is finally over. His Department of Government Efficiency could eliminate entire federal bureaucracies, returning the executive branch to its proper constitutional size and structure.
To make these reforms last beyond his administration, Mr. Trump should also consider pushing for a federal law that has been effective at the state level. Every federal agency should be subject to a periodic sunset review requiring affirmative congressional reauthorization for the agency to continue in existence.
This law would be very simple: "Notwithstanding any other law, beginning on an eight-year rotating basis on Sept. 30, 2025, the statutory authorization for each agency, as defined in 5 U.S.C. section 551, shall expire, and such agency shall have no authority to engage in rulemaking, adjudication, licensing, other agency action, or enforcement of any law or rule from that date forward until Congress passes a separate joint resolution of reauthorization for the agency for an additional eight-year period." The law would also divide agencies into eight groups, one group for each year.
Now is the perfect time to pass this law. Mr. Trump is entering office with a clear mandate to shrink the out-of-control federal bureaucracy, and Congress will be faced with a vote to raise the debt ceiling in early 2025. Enacting a sunset law would put in place a process to prevent bureaucratic backsliding after the critical work of DOGE is completed. It will also make the agencies more accountable to voters through their elected representatives.
American greatness and our system of free enterprise are firmly intertwined; private businesses must be innovative, efficient and consistently improving to survive in a competitive marketplace. Government agencies meanwhile face no threat to their existence, regardless of how cumbersome, inefficient or unnecessary they may be. Yet like a family that has accumulated debt, our elected representatives must sit around the table and figure out which expenses are necessary and which aren't. This is common sense.
The federal government can, and should, learn from the states. Since 1978, Arizona has had a sunset law, which was signed by Democratic Gov. Bruce Babbitt. To combat the sins of government complacency, Arizona law requires the automatic expiration of all state agencies in 10 years or less, unless continued by the Legislature. In recent years, lawmakers have generally renewed agencies for eight years. During an agency's "sunset review process," the Legislature's independent auditor identifies inefficiencies, exposes fraud or abuse, quantifies costs imposed on consumers, and analyzes the continued need for the agency. As part of the review process, agency heads must answer direct criticisms from the testifying public, unshielded by the bureaucratic processes created to discourage accountability.
By correcting this critical oversight, Arizona's state government has avoided much of the bloat of its federal counterpart. Other states such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho and Texas, have similar laws.
Critics will argue that asking Congress to review the work of every federal agency is too much of a burden to place on our busy representatives. That's nonsense. If the government has grown to the point that lawmakers can't perform their constitutionally mandated oversight duties once every eight years, then we've lost our democracy in any meaningful sense of the term.
Red and blue states have both passed versions of this law, so I am optimistic that at least some common-sense Senate Democrats would be amenable to it. If they instead chose to block it, then that would be important information for voters to know heading into 2026, when many senators will be up for re-election.
The American people, not special interests or bureaucrats, are the sole beneficiary of the sunset review process. Arizona taxpayers have saved millions since 1978 from the repeal of unnecessary regulations and the termination of occupational boards that suppressed competition and inflated the cost of services while fulfilling no government function. Imagine the same for federal taxpayers. DOGE promises to save our nation from collapse beneath the weight of bureaucratic bloat and financial incompetence. I hope Congress goes one step further, ensuring that the good DOGE does is enshrined for many generations to come.
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Mr. Petersen, a Republican, is president of the Arizona Senate." [1]
1. Cross Country: Arizona's Sunset Law Is an Example for DOGE. Petersen, Warren. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 04 Jan 2025: A11.
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