Don Nickles: “the FY2004 budget resolution adopted last month includes a provision to uncover waste, fraud and abuse in Federal…”

“the FY2004 budget resolution adopted last month includes a provision to uncover waste, fraud and abuse in Federal Government spending. Today marks the beginning of a transparent and deliberative process that will be undertaken by Committees in the House and Senate to control Federal spending. Specifically, the budget resolution requires the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget in both the House and Senate to place in the Congressional Record specified levels of savings for each authorizing committee. Chairman Nussle and I have developed a joint set of targets that requests each authorizing committee to report back with recommended savings proposals amounting to 1 percent of the committee's total mandatory spending. I will work with Senate committees to ensure that the savings target meaningfully represents the opportunities to find improvements in the programs under each committee's jurisdiction. Pursuant to section 301(b) of H. Con. Res. 95, I submit the following specified levels of savings for Senate Committees. Given these savings targets, the budget resolution further requires committees to submit, by September 2, 2003, to the Budget Committee their findings that identify changes in law within their jurisdiction that would produce the specified savings. The reports submitted by committees will guide us in the preparation of future budget resolutions and will help us all improve program oversight.”