James Lankford

There has not been enough time to able to go through this.

My concern is that if I went back 35 years ago, Congress was conducting hearings and conversations about pushing power generation out of natural gas into coal and into nuclear because we were 'running out' of natural gas.

I would think all of it needs to go to Tinker or Oklahoma City on that.

We have to find a way to move from we intend to get this done to this is actually done.

I need to know when.

Those are individuals that have been included because of Clean Water Act violations, Clean Air Act violations.

But if you have somebody that has violated Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, they are going on the list at that point?

I want to be able to make sure, obviously, that people that have been debarred for a period of time, that is actually pulled off so they can be redeemed, I guess, at the end of it.

But that is automatically being pulled? The agency is not having to pursue to go back and say, this needs to be pulled now, it has now been 3 years?

Our solemn responsibility is to hold government accountable to taxpayers.

Americans deserve an efficient, effective government that works for them.

Americans have a right to know that the money that Washington takes from them is well spent.

I would completely agree with that.

I would love to see Congress be responsible and be able to do it on their own, I just do not see a tremendous level of long-term responsibility year after year.

It is not a matter of I want to see some dirt turning in my district, it is I want to know when that is going to get solved.

Every congressional district wants the work done in their district.

I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 2149, and I also yield back the balance of my time.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 98, line 11, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $2,661,000)''. Page 158, line 25, after the dollar amount…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 71, lines 15 and 17, strike ``not less than 30 percent'' and insert ``30 percent or less''. The Acting CHAIR. The…

This system is not working for them at all.

I would completely agree it is a good thing for us to be aggressive in this process but they perceive it very much as gotcha.

How do we develop this relationship because they are no longer our friends, we are setting out as an enemy to them.

That has not trickled down actually yet, because I can tell you as recently as of the last couple weeks, I have been in communication with yet another hospital in my district that is fighting the same thing.

I also hear from doctors and hospitals who are very frustrated with recovery audit contractors.

Thank you, all of you, for what you do. My mom is also one of those Medicare recipients.