(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says his proposed Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act would help tackle the national debt by paying federal workers to find waste. Congressional scorekeepers say they have no basis for estimating how much it would save.

When an employee identifies surplus or unneeded spending and funds, the agency could retain up to 10% for cash awards to employees who identify the savings and would send the rest to the Treasury for deficit reduction. Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has introduced some version of the bill in every Congress since 2013. It has passed the House twice but never become law.

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