When voters went to the polls in November and gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives, they made it clear they were tired of the runaway spending and inflation that were hallmarks of the Democratic-controlled 117th Congress.

The 118th Congress has been in session for three months, and the new House majority is already moving ahead on legislation that would reduce regulations, begin to restore energy independence, and prevent some of the worst policies that were enacted in the last Congress from taking effect. House committees have been holding oversight hearings to increase accountability and transparency, both of which have been severely lacking over the past two years. Members should use this momentum to spring into action and do even more to protect taxpayers.

The top priority for the 118th Congress should be to cut wasteful government spending and stop new spending, which happens to be the best way to fight inflation. The last Congress pushed through a record-breaking amount of spending, from the COVID-19 “relief” bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, all of which added up to more than $5 trillion. This massive spending spree is the reason the United States is suffering from the highest inflation rates it has seen in 40 years and staring down an impending recession.

Congress can stop unnecessary government spending by rejecting the new taxes and pet projects that litter President Joe Biden’s $6.8 trillion fiscal 2024 budget . The budget includes many unnecessary, liberal policies that the president has used to advance political objectives. It would also violate the president’s campaign pledge not to raise taxes on those making under $400,000.

Congress should also continue to claw back some of the worst provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. The first bill passed by the House to this extent was H.R. 23, the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act , which rescinds any unspent money allocated to the IRS for tax enforcement purposes. The Senate should follow the House’s lead and pass H.R. 23.

The House has already held some hearings to investigate the massive amount of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement that plagued the COVID-19 relief programs, but they should expand on that effort, especially since estimates vary on how much of this money was stolen, misused, or subject to improper payments. Department of Labor Inspector General Larry Turner testified at a Feb. 8 House Ways and Means Committee hearing that at least $191 billion was paid improperly in unemployment insurance, while other estimates say the amount could be as high as $400 billion.

Regardless of how much COVID-19 relief was improperly paid or stolen, it is clear that government agencies did not use the tools available to them to prevent these losses. For example, the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay list was largely unused, which likely led to more than $3 billion being paid to people and businesses that should have been at least subjected to further review before receiving taxpayer money. The lack of proper controls and oversight was a reason the Government Accountability Office was unable to give an opinion on the state of the government’s finances in February 2023.

Congress must also push back against the restrictive policies and rules being pushed by the Federal Trade Commission. FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan has used her post at the agency to stall or prevent nearly every possible merger, including an attempt to block Meta’s acquisition of Within, which was struck down by a federal court in California. Khan is also trying to prevent Microsoft from acquiring video game producer Activision, setting privacy rules for the entire country, and banning all noncompete clauses. As Citizens Against Government Waste President Tom Schatz wrote , “The FTC has become one of the biggest obstacles to competition and consumer welfare.”

The 118th Congress has made progress during its first three months. But members must spring into action and enact policies that would make the federal government more effective and accountable rather than more wasteful and intrusive.

Eric Maus is a federal government affairs associate for Citizens Against Government Waste.