Dan Coats: “today marks the 36th edition of my ``Waste of the Week.'' For those who have been listening I have been down here every…”

“today marks the 36th edition of my ``Waste of the Week.'' For those who have been listening I have been down here every week, while the Senate is in session, addressing what has been documented as waste, fraud, and abuse. I took on a major role when first coming back to the Senate starting in 2011 to deal with the larger issue of our plunge into debt through deficit spending year after year after year. Despite numerous attempts, many of them bipartisan, all blocked by decisions made at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we have not been able to put in place a reasonable plan--or any plan whatsoever--that would reduce our spending, balance the budget and begin to chip away at this ever-deepening cesspool of debt. It is hurting our economy, and laying a burden on future generations that will have enormous negative consequences. Given the fact that those larger efforts came to naught, I have decided to start chipping away from the other end of the fiscal spectrum to identify waste, fraud, and abuse, a much more efficient, effective Federal Government and not waste taxpayer dollars that these days are hard-earned and pretty scarce. This ``Waste of the Week'' deals with not as substantive an issue as many of these. The speeches talk about a whole range of issues that are taking a lot of taxpayer dollars out of the purses and wallets of our constituents, sent to Washington and simply wasted.…”