Federal Waste Initiative Would Save Taxpayers $2 Billion

New steps being taken by the Obama administration will save taxpayers more than $2 billion over the next five years, said Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Biden, who was tapped by President Obama this past June to oversee a government-wide effort to cut down on waste, said the cuts would mainly target the public healthcare sector.

“Today’s announcements…show that we can make our government more efficient and responsible to the American people,” Biden said. “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.”

According to the White House, a provision within the Affordable Care Act known as the Medicaid Recovery Audit Contractor Program would limit fraud by $2.1 billion between now and 2016 by targeting improper payments to beneficiaries. $900 million worth of savings would be doled out to states.

“We simply can’t afford to see even one penny of our health care dollars wasted and expanding this program will help us reach that goal,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Biden, who summoned cabinet officials to the White House this morning to review anti-waste plans, also announced a new effort being spearheaded by the Labor Department to minimize wasteful spending on unemployment benefits. The agency, which launched a new website that tracks improper payments on a state-by-state basis, also awarded $192 million to 42 states to improve their way of handling and distributing benefits.

“States bear the responsibility of operating an efficient and effective benefits program, but as partners the federal government must be able to hold them accountable for doing so,” said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

Biden will hold additional meetings in the coming weeks with cabinet officials to monitor efforts to cut waste.

Meanwhile, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calf.) released a new report this morning showing that new regulations put in place by the administration will cost businesses up to $380 billion over the next decade.

The report details how federal regulatory agencies have increased payrolls by 13% during President Obama’s time in office, and shows that the number of full-time regulatory employees is expected to grow to over 290,000 by next year.

Issa, who has been pressuring the White House to roll back rules since he took over as head of his committee back in January, said the new regulations would stifle economic growth.

“The businesses owners and workers who bear the brunt of these regulations are not Fortune 500 executives, they are main street business owners and workers from around the country,” he said. “These firms, their families, suppliers, customers and employees all bear the cost of these new and proposed regulations.”

Though Issa applauded Obama’s decision earlier this month to ask the EPA to scrap a key air quality rule, he urged the president to go further.

“Thus far, the rhetoric we have seen from the Obama Administration on the issue of regulatory reform has not been matched in deed.”

Stimulus Has The "Summertime Blues"

By Rob Sanna - Talk Radio News Service

Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) released a report Tuesday entitled “Summertime Blues,” which lists 100 stimulus bill funded projects that to do not create jobs.

“We have a total now of over 300 projects [and] over $15 billion,” said Coburn. “Could we have used that 15 billion in a way that would have given us a greater economic return, a greater multiplier effect and actually had greater impact on the country? I think so.”

With unemployment rates hovering in the ninth percentile, McCain said he believes that, coupled with sinking GDP levels, unemployment is set to increase throughout the year, digging the country a deeper hole to climb out of.

“The American people have the summertime blues, as unemployment is at 9.5%, over half the homes in my homestate of Arizona are still underwater, and we have seen a decline in the Gross Domestic Product,” he said. “That indicates we are in for a long, difficult year of high unemployment.” 

$1.4 Trillion Lost Annually Due To Illness, Study Estimates

The lack of productivity that accompanies the onset of diseases and other health conditions may deprive the U.S. economy of $1.4 trillion annually, a new report sponsored by the Advanced Medical Technology Association concludes.

“It’s obvious that disease and productivity are intrinsically linked,” report contributor Bryan Luce of the United BioSource Corporation (UBC) said during a presentation Monday marking the reports’ release. “[Disease is] obviously important to GDP if it’s important to productivity.”

The report estimates that cancer is responsible for the loss of $306 billion in productivity with substance abuse detracting an additional $225 billion. The study also highlighted billions in losses from hypertension, heart disease, and mental problems.

The report’s contributors explained that the data shows the need for further investment in preventative treatment, arguing that an aggressive prevention program is needed.

“There is a rationale for a national program on the order of putting a man on the moon,” report contributor Greg de Lissovoy of UBC said. “Certainly health care reform and better access to care...will make a great contribution to this.”

Senate Looks To Clean Up Wasteful Gov't Spending On Contractor Bonuses

By Laura Woodhead - Talk Radio News Service

Federal agencies are still not using awards fees as intended despite new guidelines said a group of Senators Monday. Speaking at the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security's hearing on "Eliminating Wasteful Contractor Bonuses", Chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said that he was disappointed that federal agencies are still paying billions in awards fees to contractors that provide less than satisfactory work.

"This situation has caused many of us to question how, during a time when households around the country are tightening their budgets, federal agencies can continue to award extra profit to companies as if it is expected and earned," Carper said.

Though he is a "strong believer" that appropriate incentives lead to better performances, Carper said it simply did not make sense to award bonuses for below standard work.

"It's as if you were at a restaurant and your waiter or waitress forgot your order, spilled your food on you and charged you for items you didn't get. Most of us wouldn't give that person a very big tip. But agencies are giving contractors who perform just as poorly everything they want," he said.

Monday's hearing took place two months before the Office of Management and Budget publishes its final guidelines for awards fees. During his testimony before the subcommittee, Deputy Director for Management at the OMB Jeffrey Zients said that 95% of all awards fees handed out by federal agencies were given by the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Zients added that although some of these agencies, especially the DoD, had made progress, there is still a long way to go.

"I think by DoD’s leadership on this, we know that change can happen and happen quickly," Zients said. "By having those five agencies work closely together to share best practices, best processes, I believe we can quickly improve the situation."

John Hutton, Sourcing Manager at the Government Accountability Office, testified that the method being used to apply award fees is still the biggest concern.

"We have seen the cost plus award fee contracts applied in a way that's not in best interest of tax payers. We found that even in cases were they performed "satisfactorily," one could get 85-90% of award fees. In those situations, what’s left to really incentive contractors' performances?" asked Hutton.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said that the whole system of awards fees needed to be reassessed rather than just regulated. He said he could not understand how agencies could justify giving "roll overs" in awards fees to contractors even if their previous work had been substandard.

"That's like saying my dog ate my homework but I come back tomorrow and get an A even though i didn't perform the first day," Coburn said.

Veterans Attribute Health Issues To Burning Waste

By: Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

The House has proposed new legislation that would close improperly facilitated burn pits used by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation would also mandate health screenings for veterans who were exposed to toxins released from the pits, which are large ditches used to dispose of garbage and waste.

The Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system that would pinpoint troops that have been exposed to hazardous chemicals burned in the pits. The act would also prohibit the military from discarding waste that omits dangerous levels of toxins.

“We believe it is premature to dismiss concern raised about burn pits after only a few years. Our country’s difficult experiences with agent orange and Gulf War illness taught us we must be vigilant in monitoring and treating our veterans long after they have returned from the battlefield,” said Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.).

 Despite the fact that the military has purchased incinerators, the burn pits have become an indefinite solution to get rid of waste.
 
“[The burn pits are producing] 250 tons of waste everyday. Some of our troops are working directly inside of these pits with no protection,” said Kerry Baker, the Assistant National Legislative Director of the Disabled American Veterans.

Medical concerns that have been raised include chronic bronchitis, asthma, sleep apnea, allergy-like symptoms, lung problems and lymphoma.

“Where all of the trash from the base and from the base hospital was burned just over the wall...we lived under a cloud of smoke from that continuous fire, and everyone was affected on some level,” said Tom Tarantino, an Iraq War veteran and a policy associate for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

According to Rep. Bishop, the Department of Defense currently maintains that there are no long term health issues related to troops being exposed to burn pits.