Political Quotes

“I would like to speak to these amendments for a couple of moments. The first amendment, No. 991, targets improper payments and fraud in our largest entitlement programs. It is remarkable--every elected official I have ever met at any level of government often rallies against waste and fraud in government, and that means it so unusual that this budget we have before us leaves out critical funding to fight fraud and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and disability programs. The amendment I am offering today would restore all program integrity funding to the Republican budget to the levels allowed in the Budget Control Act. Program integrity activities have a proven track record of saving money. When we invest in programs that track and eliminate overpayments and fraudulent claims, we end up reducing costs and lowering budget deficits. For example, according to the Social Security actuaries, program integrity efforts to conduct ``continuing disability reviews''-- specifically to weed out beneficiaries who have recovered and are no longer defined as ``disabled''--saves taxpayers $10 for every $1 spent on program integrity efforts. I am introducing this amendment because this is a good use of taxpayer dollars and a critical way to ensure that the money we invest in important programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability goes directly to the beneficiaries who rely on them.…”