Phil Gingrey: “my Washington Waste Watcher colleagues and I, Republican members of the freshman class, have come to the floor tonight…”

“my Washington Waste Watcher colleagues and I, Republican members of the freshman class, have come to the floor tonight to devise new and innovative ways for trimming the fat out of government. I believe we owe it to the American taxpayer to hold Washington bureaucrats accountable for wasteful spending and to discover new ways for reducing fraud in government at all levels. A great American from Ellijay, Georgia, Mr. Joe McCutchen, reminds me of this at least once a month. Mr. Speaker, after spending 28 years as an OB-GYN doctor, it should be no surprise that part of my legislative agenda is to reorganize and revamp this Medicare program, which is currently responsible for billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse. The General Accounting Office has estimated that one of every 10 dollars is wasted because our current Medicare system is open to poor management and fraud. Dishonest individuals find new and more creative ways to cheat our Medicare system every day, burdening Americans with higher taxes, higher premiums, and higher copays.”