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Working to Stop Wasteful Government Spending
This week I received a Taxpayer Hero award from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, a national organization that advocates cutting wasteful government spending, reducing the tax burden and making government more accountable to taxpayers. The awards are made by the group based on an examination of roll-call votes taken by all 535 members of Congress on legislation deemed significant in these areas.
I appreciate receiving this award and the effort by so many Americans to change the course in Washington away from the 22-percent increase in government spending from January 2009 to January 2011, not even counting the failed $800 billion stimulus program. Out-of-control deficit spending and a $15 trillion national debt are inhibiting the ability of the economy to grow and create private-sector jobs, and it’s wrong to make the next generation pay the bills for the way we live today.
Stopping wasteful government spending has been a priority of mine for a long time. To get at it, I conduct proactive ongoing oversight of the federal bureaucracy to protect taxpayers from waste, abuse and fraud. Getting results requires getting in the weeds and turning the spotlight on wrongdoing to keep the pressure on. That means holding accountable agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Both agencies are good at writing checks, but they need to do a lot more to adequately safeguard how the money gets spent. Flagrant waste and abuse by the Philadelphia Housing Authority of federal tax dollars had been going on, unchecked, for years. Money for housing assistance was squandered on lavish gifts, lawyer fees spent to try to cover-up wrongdoing, and rampant mismanagement. Now, similar problems are coming to light with the Baltimore Housing Authority. I’ve put the heat on HUD to do its job in enforcing restrictions on the use of taxpayer dollars. Likewise, some major home-health companies have gamed the system at HHS by billing Medicare for what could be medically-unnecessary patient care in order to increase company profits. By exposing the flawed policy that let this go on, and riding herd on the responsible agency, I hope to get it fixed.
Excessive, wasteful spending tells taxpayers that Washington just doesn’t get it. An independent audit just last month showed that spending by the Justice Department on conferences has increased from $48 million in 2008 to $73 million in 2009 and $92 million in 2010. This fall, I urged the government agency in charge of contractors to figure out the contractor salary cap this year. This formula needs to be reformed when the top five executives at big government contractors are able to charge as much as $693,951 apiece directly to the taxpayers while working for the taxpayers. That’s apart from what they might earn from their company itself. In the same vein, I spoke out this week against leaving $300 million in the hands of the Labor Department for a program designed to train workers for green jobs, in light of information received just this week that only 10 percent of program participants have found work so far, according to the agency’s Inspector General. I support efforts to match worker skills to available jobs, including those in environmentally friendly industries, but when a program isn’t effective, taxpayer money should not be wasted. Earlier this year, I called on the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission to get a handle on its leasing operation when it was revealed that the agency faces a $94 million claim after backing out of a deal to lease office space in Washington, D.C. The SEC’s leasing operation was portrayed as incompetent in just about every way, having grossly over-estimated the amount of needed space, maneuvered around leadership’s concerns, and even backdating a key document to justify its decision. This mismanagement may have taxpayers on the hook for nearly $100 million.
These examples from my very recent oversight work, along with so many other cases, emphasize the point that the budget challenges facing the federal government don’t come from Americans being taxed too little. The problem is that Washington spends, and wastes, too much. In fact, since World War II, Washington has spent $1.17 for every dollar in new tax increases, so raising taxes has proven to be a license for Congress to spend more money.
I’m committed to reducing government spending, fighting wasteful spending by holding government accountable, and preventing job-killing tax increases.
October 7, 2011
This week I received a Taxpayer Hero award from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, a national organization that advocates cutting wasteful government spending, reducing the tax burden and making government more accountable to taxpayers. The awards are made by the group based on an examination of roll-call votes taken by all 535 members of Congress on legislation deemed significant in these areas.
I appreciate receiving this award and the effort by so many Americans to change the course in Washington away from the 22-percent increase in government spending from January 2009 to January 2011, not even counting the failed $800 billion stimulus program. Out-of-control deficit spending and a $15 trillion national debt are inhibiting the ability of the economy to grow and create private-sector jobs, and it’s wrong to make the next generation pay the bills for the way we live today.
Stopping wasteful government spending has been a priority of mine for a long time. To get at it, I conduct proactive ongoing oversight of the federal bureaucracy to protect taxpayers from waste, abuse and fraud. Getting results requires getting in the weeds and turning the spotlight on wrongdoing to keep the pressure on. That means holding accountable agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Both agencies are good at writing checks, but they need to do a lot more to adequately safeguard how the money gets spent. Flagrant waste and abuse by the Philadelphia Housing Authority of federal tax dollars had been going on, unchecked, for years. Money for housing assistance was squandered on lavish gifts, lawyer fees spent to try to cover-up wrongdoing, and rampant mismanagement. Now, similar problems are coming to light with the Baltimore Housing Authority. I’ve put the heat on HUD to do its job in enforcing restrictions on the use of taxpayer dollars. Likewise, some major home-health companies have gamed the system at HHS by billing Medicare for what could be medically-unnecessary patient care in order to increase company profits. By exposing the flawed policy that let this go on, and riding herd on the responsible agency, I hope to get it fixed.
Excessive, wasteful spending tells taxpayers that Washington just doesn’t get it. An independent audit just last month showed that spending by the Justice Department on conferences has increased from $48 million in 2008 to $73 million in 2009 and $92 million in 2010. This fall, I urged the government agency in charge of contractors to figure out the contractor salary cap this year. This formula needs to be reformed when the top five executives at big government contractors are able to charge as much as $693,951 apiece directly to the taxpayers while working for the taxpayers. That’s apart from what they might earn from their company itself. In the same vein, I spoke out this week against leaving $300 million in the hands of the Labor Department for a program designed to train workers for green jobs, in light of information received just this week that only 10 percent of program participants have found work so far, according to the agency’s Inspector General. I support efforts to match worker skills to available jobs, including those in environmentally friendly industries, but when a program isn’t effective, taxpayer money should not be wasted. Earlier this year, I called on the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission to get a handle on its leasing operation when it was revealed that the agency faces a $94 million claim after backing out of a deal to lease office space in Washington, D.C. The SEC’s leasing operation was portrayed as incompetent in just about every way, having grossly over-estimated the amount of needed space, maneuvered around leadership’s concerns, and even backdating a key document to justify its decision. This mismanagement may have taxpayers on the hook for nearly $100 million.
These examples from my very recent oversight work, along with so many other cases, emphasize the point that the budget challenges facing the federal government don’t come from Americans being taxed too little. The problem is that Washington spends, and wastes, too much. In fact, since World War II, Washington has spent $1.17 for every dollar in new tax increases, so raising taxes has proven to be a license for Congress to spend more money.
I’m committed to reducing government spending, fighting wasteful spending by holding government accountable, and preventing job-killing tax increases.
October 7, 2011