[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 706-707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO LARRY J. GOLDBERG

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, Senator Hatch and I would like to 
recognize the outstanding career of Mr. Larry J. Goldberg, Principal 
Deputy Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human 
Services, HHS. Mr. Goldberg retired on January 3, after more than 35 
years of distinguished government service.
  Mr. Goldberg began his career of government service in 1976 as 
Associate Legal Director for the National Center for Law and Deafness 
at Gallaudet College. He continued his work defending civil rights for 
persons with disabilities as a trial attorney in the Justice Department 
and later as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland's 
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In 1989, Mr. Goldberg joined 
HHS in the Inspector General Division of the Office of General Counsel. 
He transferred to the HHS Office of Inspector General, OIG, at the 
inception of its independent Office of Counsel in 1996, and has risen 
through the ranks to Principal Deputy Inspector General, managing a 
staff of more than

[[Page 707]]

1,700 auditors, criminal investigators, analysts, and attorneys, and a 
budget of more than $300 million.
  Throughout his career, Mr. Goldberg has demonstrated the essence of 
what it means to serve and protect the public. Most notably, he has 
accomplished systemic and institutional reforms that have enhanced HHS 
programs by strengthening protections against fraud, waste, and abuse 
and promoting efficient and effective program operations. His visionary 
leadership and perseverance in driving change has resulted in billions 
of dollars of erroneously paid and misused funds being returned to the 
critical programs that serve our most needy. Mr. Goldberg's career 
achievements also include establishing landmark legal rights for people 
with disabilities in employment, education, health care, and social 
services. His many contributions have had a far-reaching and lasting 
impact.
  During his 23 years with OIG, Mr. Goldberg's efforts and skill in 
fostering collaboration within OIG and with government partners have 
positioned OIG to meet vastly expanded responsibilities and to achieve 
results in priority areas. The depth and range of his professional 
knowledge and expertise are appreciated and respected throughout HHS, 
by the larger OIG community, by Congress, and by the health care 
industry. His dynamic leadership has had a direct and measurable effect 
on OIG's ability to align its resources, work plans and products, 
compliance initiatives, and investigative and enforcement activities to 
carry out its mission.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I join with Senator Baucus in commending 
Mr. Goldberg for his service. As Principal Deputy Inspector General, 
and throughout his career with OIG, Mr. Goldberg's efforts have 
directly benefited the American people by protecting Federal health 
care, public health, and social programs from waste, fraud, and abuse, 
and recommending to HHS actions to improve program effectiveness. Mr. 
Goldberg has led OIG to achieve unprecedented results in combating 
health care fraud and abuse. He has marshaled OIG's resources to 
counter this epidemic through a sophisticated, multifaceted, and 
innovative strategy.
  For example, Mr. Goldberg has spearheaded OIG's efforts to join with 
the Justice Department to establish Medicare Fraud ``Strike Force'' 
operations--elite teams of investigators and prosecutors, supported by 
advanced data analysis--in 9 key locations. These Strike Forces have 
charged more than 1,400 defendants, who collectively have billed 
Medicare for more than $4 billion. Simultaneously, OIG has pursued more 
traditional civil, administrative, and criminal cases. Under Mr. 
Goldberg's leadership, OIG has generated record-breaking returns for 
the Medicare Trust Fund and taxpayers--including court-ordered 
recoveries, fines, restitution, and settlements totaling more than $6 
billion in 2012.
  But not all of his results can be measured in dollars. During Mr. 
Goldberg's tenure, OIG produced a landmark measurement of adverse 
events from hospital stays; reported and testified on overutilization 
of antipsychotic drugs for nursing home patients; and recommended 
actions to protect the safety of the Nation's food supply. Mr. Goldberg 
has also championed fraud prevention by taking the message directly to 
the health care industry. He has built coalitions with industry to 
promote a culture of compliance and transparent practices to safeguard 
Federal health care programs, and he pioneered a series of guidances 
that set the standards for how to meet Federal health care program 
requirements.
  We wish Mr. Goldberg the very best in his retirement and thank him 
for his exemplary record of service to the government and the American 
people in protecting Federal programs from fraud, waste, and abuse and 
in promoting the health, well-being, and civil rights of all Americans.

                          ____________________