Kevin Kiley: “I rise today to make a statement about efficiency in government because there was a statement from the Governor of my…”

“I rise today to make a statement about efficiency in government because there was a statement from the Governor of my State that many of us found quite surprising where he recently said that long before there was DOGE, California was already streamlining government to be more efficient, responsive, and accountable. Apparently, California being a model of efficiency, in the Governor's view. This came as a surprise to many of us because, in the course of just 5 years during Governor Newsom's tenure, the State budget increased by $124 billion. That is over a 50 percent increase in spending without really any measurable improvement in government performance when you look at California ranking first in the Nation in homelessness, poverty, unemployment, having some of the worst roads, and some of the worst achievement gaps in our schools. I will highlight just a few examples that I think are particularly revealing when it comes to the low quality of government service that citizens of California are receiving and also, to some extent, the lessons that we can draw from here at the Federal level where I think continuing to improve the quality of government service, giving taxpayers a higher return on their tax dollars remains a vital imperative.”