John Thune: “I guess as our time is winding down, I want to pick up on one note that was made earlier, and that is that one of the…”

“I guess as our time is winding down, I want to pick up on one note that was made earlier, and that is that one of the things that we have to, I think, insist upon in Washington, is accountability. As we move forward now, having balanced this budget, the gentleman talked about the fact that we have got the blueprint there, but we have to be conscientious and see that it is enforced. One of the other things that I think we need to take very seriously is the so-called Results Act which has been passed by the Congress. It goes into effect this year. For the people in this country, we spend $1.6 trillion taxpayer dollars on the Federal Government, and the estimates are that as much as $350 billion is lost through fraud, waste and abuse, some $23 billion in the Medicare program alone, which represents 14 percent of their total budget allocated dollars. So one of the things we do have to, I think, as we go through the process continue to try to root out, and that is all the spending in government that is over and above what is necessary to get the job done. The people in this country expect Washington to be accountable. They deserve to have Washington be accountable. I think that that, too, is an important part. Think about the tax cut that we could do. $350 billion in waste, fraud and abuse.”