Squashing Government Waste in 2014

Last week, I returned to Washington as motivated and committed as ever to making government more efficient and effective, spending less and empowering all Americans to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose.

The first item of business on the House Oversight Committee’s 2014 agenda was the annual hearing to highlight examples of waste in the federal government from the last year and look at how it can be eliminated this year.

The hearing included two different panels. First to testify were two Senate champions for ending the government culture of wasteful spending: Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) (You may have heard of Senator Coburn’s annual “Waste Book,” his collection of the most egregious government spending from the previous year. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to take a look here at the Waste Book he recently released for 2013. It’s a doozy) and the Chairman of the Senate counterpart of the House Oversight Committee, Senator Tom Carper (D-RI).

The second panel of witnesses in our hearing was made up of issue experts from the CATO Institute, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Citizens Against Government Waste and National Taxpayers Union.

While I have serious concerns with ALL of the examples laid out in Senator Coburns latest Waste Book that show excessive waste in our government, I went into last weeks hearing seeking answers on one in particular. I focused on the number one issue people wanted to discuss and share their concerns with me about while I was home over the holidays, and the number one topic that continues to dominate the news cycle, as well as the letters, phone calls and e-mails that have been pouring into my office: The Obamacare train wreck and how it’s getting worse.

During my round of questioning, I cited one of the most egregious examples of government waste in 2013: the $700 billion the Obama Administration spent on advertising to promote Obamacare and drive traffic to healthcare.gov ... while it wasnt even working! Click here to hear the witnesses takes on ending this blatant government waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

One way we can move towards fixing the problems in Washington this year is to address its spending epidemic by cutting it off at the knees. We need to deal with the Administrations unchecked, reckless spending head-on, and it should start with eliminating waste and taxpayer-funded expenditures on government websites and programs that don’t work. It’s not fair for hardworking Americans to be left holding the bag because of mismanagement by the federal government.

I’m committed to fighting for a more accountable and responsible government that will help better – and not burden – the lives of you and your family. Thank you for allowing me to keep fighting for you in 2014.