[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4534-H4535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PRIORITIZING REINING IN OUR NATIONAL DEBT

  (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Moore 
of Utah was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.)


                             General Leave

  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  In 10 years, the deficit will be greater than every penny spent by 
the Federal Government between 1789 and 2023. As we celebrate our 
250th, this is the time to reflect on it and to focus on it. I am going 
to share something tonight that is going on every single day, 
specifically about trying to find the opportunity for deficit 
reduction.
  I have another colleague who will be here momentarily as well, but 
this is, obviously, an evergreen topic, something that we are 
constantly focused on, something that members of the Budget Committee, 
members of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, members of various groups that 
focus more heavily on this than maybe some other issues.
  I am proud to count myself as part of that. I remember voting against 
debt ceiling increases that didn't have some type of spending 
reduction, even when my own side was proposing them, that didn't have 
some type of spending reduction, a spending cap, or even a fiscal 
commission. There are many solutions. It is a key aspect, and it is 
something that we need to reflect on.
  In President Trump's first year, as we started the 119th Congress, 
taking that first entire year, calendar year 2025, and comparing it to 
calendar year 2024, a very unique thing happened: We had about $360 
billion worth of deficit reduction.
  We ran an approximately $1.8 to $1.9 trillion deficit over the last 
few years, and it has gone up considerably since COVID, during 
President Biden's 4 years. The first year that Republicans had the 
White House, House, and Senate, we had an extraordinary feat of $360 
billion worth of deficit reduction.
  There were spending constraints. There was restructuring of how we 
approached some of the student loan aspect of the budget, various 
elements within the entirety of the appropriations process from 
different agencies across the board that were pulling back and 
withholding some of their planned spending. That, mixed with revenues 
from tariffs, created a $360 billion deficit reduction. It doesn't get 
reported much, doesn't get talked about.
  A portion of that tariff money after the SCOTUS ruling will be 
refunded back, so of that 360, there will be money going back 
ultimately to some of these companies that are involved in this. The 
world of tariff and trade policy will continue to play out where you 
will still get revenue to help us offset some of the deficits.
  I have been critical of some of the tariff policy. I have been 
supportive of some of the tariff policy. I want two specific things 
from tariffs. I want them to be consistent. If they are going to exist, 
I want them to be consistent, something the companies, business folks, 
and families can plan on, as well as be a positive contributor to 
reducing deficits. I think there is an opportunity to do both of those 
things, and we are seeing that play out.
  I am going to talk a little bit tonight about what is actually going 
on with one of the most important aspects of the constant churn of us 
reducing deficits, and that is what is taking place within some of our 
administrative agencies on finding fraud. I am going to share some 
anecdotes and some data. I look forward to doing that.
  Before I do that, I have a colleague here who is going to share a 
brief message. I yield to the gentleman from the great State of North 
Carolina (Mr. Edwards).
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, our national debt has now surpassed $39 
trillion, and every second that we fail to address it, that number 
continues to grow, placing an even greater burden on future 
generations.
  Families across western North Carolina understand just a simple 
truth: You can't spend money that you don't have. They balance their 
budgets, make difficult decisions, and expect their government to do 
the same. Unfortunately, Washington has spent far too long doing just 
the opposite.
  Decades of unchecked spending have left us with rising interest 
payments, growing deficits, and fewer resources available for the 
priorities that really matter.
  As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I have worked to 
ensure that we are good stewards of every taxpayer dollar. That means 
supporting our national defense, strengthening border security, helping 
communities recover from disasters like Hurricane Helene, and funding 
the essential functions of government while still looking for every 
opportunity to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

                              {time}  1810

  Through the fiscal year 2027 appropriations process, House 
Republicans continued efforts to be responsible stewards of taxpayer 
dollars by identifying several savings, reducing unnecessary spending, 
eliminating wasteful programs, and ensuring funding is focused on the 
Federal Government's core responsibilities.
  We didn't create a $39 trillion debt overnight, and we are not going 
to solve it overnight, but every responsible spending decision moves us 
in the right direction.
  The American people deserve a government that lives within its means, 
just as they do every day. It is time to restore fiscal responsibility, 
reduce the deficit, and leave the next generation with a far stronger 
financial future.
  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North 
Carolina for his message and focus on very important issues.
  Mr. Speaker, as I was mentioning, there is no question that we have a 
major issue in front of us. Over the last 18 months, I have gone back 
home and had a chance to share a lot of the specifics as to the gains 
that we are making from the reductions. I want to just highlight some 
of this.
  Our Federal debt continues to grow unsustainably, and major trust 
fund programs face looming insolvency. To add insult to injury here, 
there is rampant fraud across our country.
  If we want to get a handle on our national debt, then we also need to 
address what I will call the invisible tax on the American people. The 
data is staggering. The Government Accountability Office estimates that 
the U.S. Government loses as much as $500 billion in Federal funds 
every year to fraud. Half a trillion dollars is wasted because 
fraudsters and scammers cheat our systems. That is $4,000 per American 
household every year completely wasted. If there is one thing that 
infuriates every American, it is the waste of their hard-earned 
taxpayer dollars.
  I find that in my own life. My wife and I are budgeting. The part 
that is frustrating is that it is not that we don't have to spend or 
invest in areas, but we have to eliminate the waste. Families are 
working hard to play by the rules, and fraudsters are stealing hundreds 
of millions of dollars from childcare programs,
  To address this, the House Republicans recently passed the Stop Child 
Care Scams Act, forcing accountability when States repeatedly fail to 
fix fraud and serious program violations.
  Fake ghost students are draining $180 million in financial aid that 
should be helping hardworking American students, so I am supporting ID 
verification before tax dollars to support those programs go out the 
door.
  Our reports have exposed fraud in States like Minnesota and 
California. They have industrial-scale theft, and it has gone unabated 
for years. Even States like Florida have had many issues in this 
regard.
  One-third of all hospices in the entire country are in Los Angeles, 
and CMS estimates that at least one-half of those are fraudulent. Eight 
hundred of those hospices have now been suspended. The numbers I had 
from just a couple of months ago were that they suspended licenses of 
400. They have even had a chance to do more, but they

[[Page H4535]]

have suspended 400 licenses and really only heard back from 12, meaning 
that 12 were probably running legitimate businesses.
  They identified, through good data analytics, investing in targeting 
the right areas where we anticipate there being significant fraud, and 
they are taking action. If somebody reaches out and says, ``Wait, what 
is going on? Why did you cancel our license?'' if they are a legitimate 
business doing legitimate work, they can show that. The overwhelming 
majority were actually pinpointed. They suspected some level of fraud, 
and it appears to be very accurate.
  Another anecdote that I just got recently, just this week, from a 
meeting with members within this agency, CMS, is that they have sent 
letters to the Medicare patients. Patients in hospice care are signed 
up for treatment with a number to show they are in hospice care. They 
have an opportunity to send correspondence to these folks just 
confirming that they have initiated hospice care.
  Mr. Speaker, 15 percent have come back from States--I think the exact 
States were in the Southwest, California, Nevada, and, I believe, 
Arizona. Those three States came back with 15 percent of the people 
whom they were sending letters to saying, no, they are not on hospice. 
The majority of that was focused in this area. For some reason, the Los 
Angeles area went rampant in this hospice world. Ninety companies were 
associated with one address.
  I have worked in the durable medical equipment industry before. There 
is equipment, call centers, and a workforce. You can't run 90 companies 
out of one location, Mr. Speaker, but this is what these dedicated men 
and women within our organizations within this administration are going 
out trying to find.
  These are real numbers. These are real examples. This is not made up.
  When I get the chance to go back and share this at home, they are 
really frustrated. They are also proud that this type of fraud doesn't 
stem from Utah. It is a moment of some recognition that States have a 
huge responsibility to play with respect to how these programs are 
implemented, and the States need to do a good job.
  I am proud to say that Utah has been deemed to be very strong in this 
case. I am really impressed with the professionalism of what I am 
seeing. They continue to go and identify this. They are using good data 
analytics to be able to figure out where the potential might be next 
and go after it.
  It is something that I share tonight as we highlight these issues of 
deficits, that this is going on daily, and as part of that first year 
of success of $360 billion, this is part of it. This is the type of 
stuff that Americans love to see because it is wasteful and fraudulent. 
People need to be held accountable. That is all taking place and 
happening.
  Just this week, the Labor Department sent a strike team to New York 
to crack down on unemployment insurance fraud that is costing taxpayers 
an estimated $2 million a day. New York recorded more than $750 million 
in improper unemployment insurance payments and $507 million in 
fraudulent payments just last year.
  House Republicans are focused on making sure the services get to the 
people who actually need them and are not wasted or stolen.
  In the Ways and Means Committee, we have worked to put new guardrails 
on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to mitigate 
improper payments and ensure States are paying their fair share for 
this critically important program.
  Empowering agencies to investigate and root out fraud and making 
targeted investments into fraud prevention and recovery programs is a 
giant step forward.
  For every dollar Medicare spends on monitoring programs, the 
government sees almost $25 in savings. Mr. Speaker, you will see Dr. Oz 
communicate this, and you will see his team communicate this. They have 
team members under Dr. Oz's purview who have said: I will come back and 
work in this job again.
  They worked in the first Trump administration. They said: I will come 
back if we can be even more laser focused and really go after the 
fraud.
  That was Dr. Oz's mission, and that is what his team's mission is. 
They do an incredible job of explaining and sharing with us the proper 
information. It is not hyperbole; it is not rhetoric; it is literally 
data. They talk about these numbers with respect to spending a dollar 
on these efforts, site visits, sending out communication to find out if 
they are truly actual patients on hospice. That takes a little bit of 
resources, but we are getting back a strong yield from that, $1 for $25 
in savings.

                              {time}  1820

  For every dollar Medicare spends on monitoring programs, the 
government sees almost $25 in savings. We need more programs like this 
to root out fraud and recover improper payments.
  To that end, I am working on legislation that will allow more of the 
money recovered by the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program to 
be reinvested directly into the fraud prevention program. The areas 
that this money needs to be reinvested back into are the trust funds 
and also back into the programs that will help us continue to be strong 
in this regard.
  Earlier this year, House Republicans passed the Fraud Prevention and 
Accountability Act, legislation that strengthened fraud prevention 
across the Federal Government and help protect taxpayer dollars from 
fraud, scams, and abuse.
  Families are stretching every dollar right now. Fraudsters are 
cashing in on taxpayer-funded programs like childcare, student aid, and 
safety-net programs. Americans play by the rules. Scammers should not 
get rewarded.
  This is the right fight. Every dollar stolen through fraud is a 
dollar taken from workers, families, seniors, veterans, and small 
businesses that actually need the support.
  We have got enough excuses, loopholes, and taxpayer money 
disappearing into fraud and abuse. Our government programs have a 
problem, and our taxpayers are the ones paying the price. These are the 
loopholes we are closing. We are cracking down on this and holding 
negligent State leaders accountable. We cannot lower our deficit 
without addressing the fraudulent spending throughout our country.
  For a year and a half, Republicans have shone a light on the amount 
of fraud, abuse, and the sheer waste. We are reducing the deficit by 
cutting this spending, and it is happening on daily basis.
  As I mentioned earlier, the data that I have here, I was told several 
months ago that they had canceled 400 licenses and only heard back from 
12. That is obviously a green light to then reach out and identify 
more. If you cancel a license and you don't hear from that company or 
those stakeholders, you have definitely nailed that right aspect of 
finding that fraudulent activity.
  It is a point that I hope that every American can really understand. 
This is not a partisan issue. Everything back here becomes partisan, 
but if you look at it and just actually take the data, this is a 
sensational thing that is going on, and it is going to continue to go 
on for the duration of this administration.
  We must continue to courageously work to solve this crisis, and we 
cannot let it get too late.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to bring Utah's sound fiscal policies to 
Washington on the House Budget Committee, and I will continue to fight 
for the American family as we seek to give our children a better 
economic future.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________