Tom Latham: “I am in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. As you know, one of the very important functions of this committee is…”

“I am in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. As you know, one of the very important functions of this committee is oversight--ensuring agencies under our purview are effectively and efficiently managed. The bill provides the Amtrak OIG with $25 million for oversight studies and investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse at Amtrak. It is through these investigations that the Amtrak OIG has helped improve the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of Amtrak's programs and operations. For example, Amtrak OIG developed a program that has identified improper or overpayments to the tune of $91.3 million. Amtrak has collected some of this back, which has saved taxpayer money. The impact of sequestration and unanticipated rail employee benefit cost increases wreaked havoc on Amtrak OIG and forced them to curtail or to suspend work on important initiatives and investigations. Amtrak needs more oversight, not less. I appreciate the gentleman for pointing out all of the problems at Amtrak, but the only people there to fix it are in the OIG office, so I think to reduce funding for that would not be in the best interest. The bill's funding levels are not arbitrary. We have scrubbed these accounts. We have held hearings and have made recommendations on what should be funded and where increases or reductions need to be. For those reasons, Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``no'' vote on the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR.…”