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.

          HONORING THE 158TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT

  (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms. Mejia
of New Jersey was recognized for 30 minutes.)

                             General Leave

  Ms. MEJIA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. MEJIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.