[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13072]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           CUTTING WASTEFUL, UNNECESSARY GOVERNMENT SPENDING

  (Mrs. DAHLKEMPER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Madam Speaker, last week I attended the Big Butler 
Fair in Butler County and the Grange Fair in Mercer County in western 
Pennsylvania, and what was the number one question my constituents 
asked? ``What are you doing about the deficit?'' I visited senior 
centers in Hermitage and Erie, and what did our seniors say to me? 
``Stop the unnecessary spending.''
  Today I'm proud to tell my constituents that we are taking action. We 
are cutting wasteful, unnecessary government spending to the tune of 
$98 billion. That's how much Federal agencies spent in improper 
payments and overpayments in 2009; $98 billion is how much we stand to 
gain with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act.
  This bill will save taxpayer funds and increase transparency by 
making Federal agencies accountable for the money they spend. I'm 
telling my constituents right now, we are cutting wasteful spending, 
and we have a powerful new tool to do it.

                          ____________________