WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), released the following statement after the Senate passed his legislation, the Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting (EGO) Act (S. 188), sending it to the president’s desk to be signed into law:
“The national debt is over $20 trillion,” said Dr. Cassidy. “There’s no excuse for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on paintings of government officials. I look forward to President Trump signing this bill into law.”
Download high-quality video of Cassidy’s statement here.
The Senate first passed the EGO Act in September, and the House passed it last week. The legislation bans taxpayer funds from being used to pay for oil paintings for the president, vice president, cabinet members, and members of Congress. These portraits can cost around $50,000. Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) joined Cassidy in introducing the legislation.
Cassidy first introduced the EGO Act in April 2013 as a member of the House. ABC News reported then that the federal government had spent almost $400,000 on portraits of government officials in just the previous two years.
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