Date: 2010-04-28
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. I thank the chairman for yielding. I would like to start off by thanking my colleague from across the aisle. Congressman BRIAN BILBRAY from California. for partnering with me on this bipartisan bill for the past 2 years. Today is a great day for our country. and I want to also highlight his partnership and his commitment to fiscal responsibility. Its been an honor to work with you. sir. I also want to thank Senator TOM CARPER for his tireless efforts in advancing this legislation in the Senate. Mr. Speaker. most of us would be outraged if we realized that our phone company charged twice for last months bill or that we paid for car repairs that were never made to our car. We would figure out the problem. we would get our money back. and we would make sure that that never happened again. But every day the Federal Government either overpays or pays twice the amount for products or services it was supposed to. But until now. there was too little action and even less outrage. According to the Office of Management and Budget. in fiscal year 2009. Federal agencies made nearly $98 billion in improper payments. Let me repeat that: In 2009. Federal agencies made nearly $98 billion in improper payments in just 1 fiscal year. Mr. Speaker. numbers get thrown around in this Chamber all the time. So let me put this number in context. This is more than double the budget for the Department of Homeland Security and triple the budget of the National Institutes of Health. These improper payments occur as a result of fraud or from poor fiscal management systems that do not detect or prevent mistakes before Federal dollars are already out the door. This billour billthe Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act. will help better identify. reduce. and eliminate these improper payments. It will cut down on fraud and waste by requiring agencies to develop and implement action plans to avoid improper payments. Mr. Speaker. no business owner would allow an employee to get away with these mistakes. American taxpayers should not have to foot the bill when the government mismanages their hardearned dollars. That is why this legislation has strong measures to hold those accountable for failing to protect taxpayer dollars. Perhaps most importantly. Mr. Speaker. this legislation would force the Federal Government to reclaim more money that was improperly sent. Its pretty simple. If a family in Bristol. Bucks County. found out that they were getting double billed for their car payments or paying for groceries they never got. theyd fix the problem. get their money back. and would not allow it to happen again. My bill ensures that the Federal Government holds itself to the same standard of fiscal responsibility that will save taxpayers billions of dollars. Mr. Speaker. there is no question that we must do more to tackle our national debt. While the debate grows increasingly partisan. the solutions seem sometimes out of political reach. But this proposal is not. This commonsense measure is something that Democrats and Republicans have come together to support. Cutting wasteful spending and growing our economy will lead us out of this recession and help put us on a path toward fiscal responsibility. I urge all of my colleagues to vote "yes" and pass this legislation on behalf of the American taxpayer.