Today, Vice President Biden and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag made a joint announcement touting “new initiatives for identifying and eliminating government waste, fraud, and abuse”. The announcement, following a memorandum issued by the President, focused primarily on establishing a “Do Not Pay List” to cut down on improper payments by the government. Explained in a statement released by Orszag, the list will be a “single source through which all agencies can check the status of a potential contractor or individual. “ It continues, “Too often, an agency does not check all the different databases the government has or finds it difficult to do so. In fact, over the past three years, federal auditors have reported that the government paid out benefits totaling more than $180 million to approximately 20,000 Americans who were dead; and more $230 million in benefits to approximately 14,000 fugitive felons or those in jail and who are not eligible for benefits.”
Too often does Washington only talk-the-talk when it comes to fiscal responsibility, rarely does it actually walk-the-walk. The most recent and egregious example is pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO. PAYGO rules are regularly avoided by identifying new expenditures as “emergency” spending. “Emergency” spending, not being subject to PAYGO rules, simply adds to our already ballooning budget deficit.
We applaud the administration for recognizing this serious problem and hope they take substantive steps to reduce wasteful spending. With a projected $1.6 trillion dollar deficit for 2010, it is past time to get serious about fiscal responsibility.
