Fighting Government Waste

Fighting Government Waste

STRAIGHT TALK WITH SAM

January 16, 2006

Politicians like to fix problems; sometimes though they fix problems that do not exist. Many of these fixes come in the form of federal programs or excessive federal spending. One of my top priorities since coming to Congress has been to fight government waste, fraud and abuse.

In 2005, Congress finally started to get serious about reigning in federal spending. We started with a 1 percent across the board cut to all spending. It is important that Congress take the problem of run-away federal spending seriously.

In addition we also made common sense changes to existing programs that saves taxpayers almost $40 billion dollars. Our government needs to live within its means and these reforms will help get the federal deficit under control. We must stand up and take control of our budget now instead of passing our debts on to our children.

I will also continue to be your watchdog for federal spending. As the Chairman of the Small Business Sub-committee on Rural Enterprises, Agriculture and Technology I will continue to focus on rooting out government waste, fraud and abuse. This is a committee that has broad jurisdiction to look into the effectiveness of many government programs.

I think that in order to keep our spending in check we ought to examine all federal programs. Ending outdated and unnecessary government programs is one way to save your money. I want to make sure that when politicians propose spending your money on a quick fix, there is actually a known problem.

http://www.house.gov/graves/straighttalk/2006issue3.htm