Issue Position: Government Waste

Issue Position

Issue Position: Government Waste

Congress must address one of the most unnecessary obstacles to reaching a balanced budget: taxpayer dollars lost to waste, fraud, and abuse.

In my seat on the House Committee on Armed Services, I have learned that a significant amount of money has been lost to waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq. The Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has told Congress as much as 15% of U.S. funding for Iraqi reconstruction has been wasted. By his calculations, that means nearly $3 billion in taxpayer dollars.

Waste, fraud, and abuse may also be putting our troops at greater risk. Significant amounts of weapons and equipment supplied to Iraq Security Forces cannot be accounted for. And these reports confirm what many of us already knew, Congress cannot continue its lax oversight of Iraq spending without incurring serious consequences. It is our responsibility to meet the rampant waste, fraud and abuse head on with increased oversight and accountability.

That's why I co-sponsored the Blue Dog Coalition resolution to provide for increased oversight and accountability of Iraq funding. The bill calls for increased transparency of Iraq spending, the creation of a Truman Commission to investigate awarding of war contracts, providing funding through the regular appropriations process, and leveraging U.S. resources to make sure the Iraqis take responsibility for their own internal policing.

In my seat on the House Committee on Small Business, I have heard about numerous budget problems in agencies like the Small Business Administration-where resources are so scarce that oversight is halted altogether, opening the door to waste, fraud and abuse.

It is unacceptable for billions of taxpayer dollars to be thrown away due to improper accounting and scant oversight. As Congress works to balance our nation's budget, the priority must be to spend your tax dollars wisely and reduce waste.

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