[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 158 (Tuesday, November 4, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H10321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ROOTING OUT WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE IN GOVERNMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. King of Iowa). Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, my Washington Waste Watcher colleagues and 
I, Republican members of the freshman class, have come to the floor 
tonight to devise new and innovative ways for trimming the fat out of 
government. I believe we owe it to the American taxpayer to hold 
Washington bureaucrats accountable for wasteful spending and to 
discover new ways for reducing fraud in government at all levels. A 
great American from Ellijay, Georgia, Mr. Joe McCutchen, reminds me of 
this at least once a month.
  Mr. Speaker, after spending 28 years as an OB-GYN doctor, it should 
be no surprise that part of my legislative agenda is to reorganize and 
revamp this Medicare program, which is currently responsible for 
billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse. The General Accounting 
Office has estimated that one of every 10 dollars is wasted because our 
current Medicare system is open to poor management and fraud. Dishonest 
individuals find new and more creative ways to cheat our Medicare 
system every day, burdening Americans with higher taxes, higher 
premiums, and higher copays.
  For example, according to the Bureau of National Affairs in an April 
25, 2003, article of ``Health Care Daily,'' a Florida woman was 
sentenced for her role in a scheme that allegedly billed Medicare and 
Medicaid more than $25 million worth of false claims for, get this, 
wheelchairs, alternating pressure mattresses, and other durable medical 
equipment; $25 million of taxpayer money that is lost and unrefundable, 
money that could have been used to improve our schools or aid our 
soldiers in Iraq or provide health care for the uninsured.
  Another example comes from the Health and Human Services Inspector 
General report to Congress, April 2000. It was reported that Medicare 
paid an estimated $20.6 million for services that started after the 
posted death dates of certain recipients. My good friend and colleague, 
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite), just a few 
minutes earlier mentioned the same thing. Of this amount, $8 million 
was paid, despite the fact the Department had already noted their 
deaths in the main database.
  These are just examples of the mismanagement of time and resources 
that are costing Americans billions of dollars every year. In these 
times of war and emphasis on homeland security, we cannot afford to 
spend another dollar on wasteful programs, and we must save money by 
eradicating fraud against and within the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to restore responsibility and accountability 
to government programs by rooting out this waste, fraud and abuse in 
our government. I urge my colleagues to help pass needed Medicare 
reform.

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