The American people are rightly frustrated by a government that thinks it knows best. These frustrations are a symptom of the people losing their power to ensure every penny of taxpayer money and every decision by federal agencies are subject to citizens’ scrutiny.

That’s why Congresswoman Cathy McMorrisRodgers (WA-05) introduced the Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act (USA Act), legislation to restore the “power of the purse” to the American people. The USA Act eliminates unauthorized spending — any spending on government programs that hasn’t been reauthorized by the people’s representatives.

But perhaps CNN’s Jake Tapper says it best: These are Zombie Government Programs — programs that McMorris Rodgers believes prevent “We the People” from exercising their power of the purse.

In her latest op-ed on CNN.com, McMorris Rodgers discusses how her bill “stops the zombie government spending programs and reclaims power for the American people” who have become, in the words of McMorris Rodgers, “disconnected from their mission.”

Catch the full op-ed here, and catch highlights below:

On the American People’s Frustration | “…the American people feel we are losing our power to ensure that every decision by federal agencies is subject to the citizens’ consent and accountability. People are afraid that we are losing our representative government.”

On “Government Zombies” | “The Department of Veterans Affairs, which we now know has categorically failed to serve the needs of our nation’s veterans, spends more than $61 billion a year that hasn’t been reauthorized by Congress. And some agencies, like the Federal Election Commission, haven’t been reauthorized since before most of my staff — and many members of Congress — were born. What all of this means is that too much of the federal government is on autopilot, and it is preventing the American people from exercising their authority to review, rethink, and possibly eliminate government programs.”

On the USA Act | “The Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act is legislation I recently introduced in the U.S. House. It is now cosponsored by 61 of my colleagues, and it will stop “zombie” government spending programs, reclaim power for the American people, and hold federal bureaucrats accountable …The USA Act also addresses the root of why so many Americans feel increasingly burdened by the rules and regulations coming from unelected bureaucrats in Washington.”