Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 375, the Payment Integrity Information Act. I was proud to introduce H.R. 5389, the House companion to this bill, earlier this year.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressman, Mr. Meadows, as well as Representatives Cheri Bustos and Greg Gianforte for their work on this bill.

My constituents sent me here to Congress to represent some of the hardest working, creative, and entrepreneurial folks in our country. Every day, I work to protect the hard-earned dollars of these families, and I remain committed to ensuring that the Federal Government is a good steward of their tax dollars.

In fiscal year 2018 alone, the Government Accountability Office estimated that improper payments throughout the Federal Government totaled $151 billion. Since 2003, when agencies were first directed to begin reporting improper payments, cumulative improper payments estimated across government have totaled $1.4 trillion.

These improper payments can be overpayments, underpayments, payments made to ineligible parties, or payments that were not properly documented. Frankly, it is outrageous.

Whether it is overpaying a defense contractor or underpaying a senior on their Social Security benefits, the Federal Government has an obligation to put commonsense policies in place to end these improper payments.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan and commonsense bill to tackle Federal waste, fraud, and abuse so that we can make room to fund the priorities that Minnesota families care so much about, like special education and addressing our crumbling infrastructure.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source