Today, Vice President Joe Biden pushed for the recovery of wasteful government spending in some of the country’s largest government programs, Medicaid and Medicare, reports USA Today.  As part of the Campaign to Cut Waste, designed to track down improper use of funds, the move would recover an estimated $2.1 billion dollars the next five years.

The Government Accountability Office (GOA) lists Medicare and Medicaid as high-risk programs, estimating that $70 billion was lost last year due to improper payments.

Biden affirmed the White House’s intention to eliminate these improper payments. “If we’re going to spur jobs and economic growth and restore long-term fiscal solvency, we need to make sure hard-earned tax dollars don’t go to waste,” Biden stated.

As the Obama Administration continues to review government programs in order to eliminate waste and tackle the $14.7 trillion debt, $2.1 billion in savings might sound like pocket change.  Yet, as Patrick Louis Knudsen, a budget expert at the Heritage Foundation told USA Today, “It’s nickels and dimes in terms of the whole thing, but no one can argue that you should just let it go.”

As the Campaign to Cut Waste begins to tackle larger government programs, it is key for Washington to be vigilant in rooting out the wasteful spending, big or small.

BA