The Forgotten U.S. Taxpayer

Floor Speech

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the forgotten U.S. taxpayer. On Wednesday, Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing TARP, said that recouping the billions of dollars given to the insurer AIG and automakers GM and Chrysler ``is far from certain.'' He also noted that $50 billion set aside to help struggling homeowners lower their mortgage payments will yield ``no direct return.''

Also on Wednesday, the former chief of the Obama administration's task force on the auto industry, Steven Rattner, commented on the $20 billion previously lent to GM, ``I don't think we are going to see it again,'' meaning that all the money is gone.

What is wrong with this picture? $50 billion here, $20 billion there. What am I missing? How can we spend, spend, spend without any accountability?

I am concerned as I travel across Kansas, my great State, that I hear countless Kansans express doubts that Congress and bureaucrats would make wise decisions with their tax dollars. They were right. With some of these unwise investment decisions that I mentioned today, I think a dose of Kansas commonsense is desperately needed in Washington, DC.

Source