WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of lawmakers is launching a new caucus, called the What Works Caucus, with a goal of incorporating more data into policymaking in order to make government more efficient.

The federal government spends trillions of dollars each year on various programs. It’s impossible to say how many programs there are because there is no definitive list, despite the fact that the federal government has been required to make such an inventory available online since 2011.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates the federal government wastes tens of billions of dollars each year on inefficient programs.

“Far too often programs get put on the books and no one actually checks to see if they actually work,” said Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, one founder of the What Works Caucus. “If you’re going to add a program or you’re going to spend some money, it should have language that says, ‘We are going to evaluate whether or not this is having the impact that we want it to have and then report back so that it can be adjusted or changed or expanded if it’s working.”

Landsman joins Reps. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind., Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo. and Blake Moore, R-Utah in the caucus.

One of the group’s goals is to educate lawmakers on data oversight so that they can add accountability to their bills.

“We have trainings we want to set up for staff, for members to really get into how to use data, how to add evaluation language to legislation,” Landsman said.

The What Works Caucus also wants to put forward its own bills.

It joins a growing roster of other bipartisan caucuses that lawmakers have formed—often to little effect. The bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus was created in 2017, but has since done little to bridge the political divide in Congress to get controversial measures passed.

Some political analysts were skeptical that the What Works Caucus could pass its own legislation in the current divided government.

“It is not possible in a Washington, D.C. in which you have one branch controlled by Democrats, another branch controlled by Republicans, combined with ideological polarization. It is not possible for that to result in productivity. It is not mathematically possible,” said Justin Buchler, associate professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University.

Landsman said the caucus is starting small and will build out its membership and goals. The first meeting in January included just the four founders who worked on planning.

“The more wins, the more action you’re taking, the more momentum you have,” Landsman said.

The caucus is also working to find the right entity to analyze policy data.

 “There’s not a ton of infrastructure, leadership around using data,” Landsman said.

Members are considering creating a new oversight body or working with an existing one, such as the Commission on Evidence Based Policymaking, established under the Office of Management and Budget by former President Barack Obama in 2016.