Edolphus Towns: “The Office of Management and Budget recently reported the Federal Government made $98 billion in improper and…”

“The Office of Management and Budget recently reported the Federal Government made $98 billion in improper and overpayments last year. This is a staggering amount and completely unacceptable. No family or business in this great country would tolerate being charged twice or even overbilled for anything and neither should the government. We need to do everything we can to ensure that the government spends every tax dollar in the most responsible way possible. In fact, we have an obligation to the taxpayers to fight waste, fraud, and abuse and to ensure that if the government overpays for something, it has the means to recover those precious tax dollars. The bill we are now considering, H.R. 3393, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2009, will provide the government with the means to fulfill this obligation to the taxpayers.”