[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       WASHINGTON WASTE WATCHERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise as cofounder of a new 
Republican effort dedicated to bringing the disinfectant of sunshine 
into the shadowy corners of the wasteful Washington bureaucracy. We 
call ourselves the Washington Waste Watchers. Do not be confused, the 
Washington Waste Watchers is not about counting calories. Instead, we 
are about counting the myriad of ways that the Federal Government 
routinely squanders the hard-earned money of the American family. We 
are here to look after the family budget by checking the growth of the 
Federal budget.
  Mr. Speaker, I am sure that all my colleagues are well aware of the 
size of our Federal deficit. It is large and getting larger every day, 
at a time when our homeland security needs are paramount.
  Now, Democrats say the only way to cut the deficit is to yet again 
raise taxes on the American family. Sound familiar? It is the same 
refrain we have heard from them for many, many years. We do have a 
large deficit, but it is not because the American people are taxed too 
little; it is because Washington spends too much.
  Since I was born, the Federal budget has grown seven times faster 
than the family budget. Seven times faster. This is unconscionable. And 
the Democrats who claim to be concerned about Federal deficits have 
voted to spend almost $1 trillion more than our budget allows, $1 
trillion more. There is a spending problem in Washington, not a taxing 
problem, and much of the spending is absolute pure waste, abuse and 
fraud.
  For the moment, let us talk about fraud. In many instances, our 
government stands idly by while criminals routinely defraud the 
American people of billions of dollars each year. Here are just a few 
examples.
  In just five individual cases, the United States Department of 
Agriculture was defrauded of almost $6 million in food stamp benefits; 
$6 million wasted by the Washington bureaucracy. And Democrats want to 
raise our taxes to pay for more of this?
  Over a 4-year period, a California law student helped two companies 
bilk Medicaid out of $9 million in false claims; $9 million wasted. And 
Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this?
  In Los Angeles, a woman and three coconspirators were convicted of 
wire fraud after they were caught helping unqualified borrowers obtain 
$70 million in fake FHA-insured loans; $70 million wasted. And 
Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this?
  One Veterans Administration employee embezzled over $11.2 million 
from the VA. The woman, a 30-year VA employee, was the last of 12 
coconspirators arrested in the scheme which involved the resurrection 
of claims filed for deceased veterans; $11 million wasted. And 
Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this?
  Twenty-three percent of the people who have had their student loans 
forgiven due to disability actually hold full-time jobs, costing the 
Federal Government $40 million a year; $40 million, just wasted. And 
Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this?
  Mr. Speaker, these are just a handful of examples of the types of 
fraud that are being perpetrated against the American taxpayer every 
day, and we have just begun to scratch the surface.
  One of the hallmarks of the recent Enron scandal was not just the 
profound outrage at the criminals who committed the fraud, but the 
recognition that the system had to be reformed. It was not enough just 
to catch the crooks, we had to change the system of accountability to 
make sure that it never happened again. Washington spending is a 
scandal, and it must be changed.
  Once you begin to look at the reports, it is easy to see that many 
Washington programs routinely waste 10, 20, 30 percent of their budgets 
due to waste, fraud and abuse, and have for years. Yet Federal agencies 
routinely spend next to nothing policing these multibillion-dollar 
budgets. In the real world, when people lose this much money, they 
either go broke or they go to jail, but in Washington it is simply 
another excuse to take more money away from the American family.
  Mr. Speaker, there are many ways that we can save money in Washington 
without cutting any needed services and without raising taxes on our 
hard-working Americans, because when it comes to Federal programs, it 
is not how much money Washington spends, it is how Washington spends 
the money.
  Mr. Speaker, at a time of huge Federal deficits, unparalleled 
homeland security needs and a crushing family tax burden, the 
Washington Waste Watchers are here to let Americans know there is an 
alternative to even more Democrat tax increases on the American family.

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