BISHOP PUSHES FOR UNCOVERING WASTE AND OVERSIGHT WITHIN GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), an original member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Democrats coalition, was proud to announce the passage of his co-sponsored bill H.R. 4053, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA). Passed in a bipartisan vote of 402 to 0, the Blue Dog endorsed bill will better identify, prevent, and recover payment error, waste, fraud, and abuse within federal spending.
“Managing our national debt and bringing our nation back to a balanced budget are the most important issues we face in Congress today,” said Congressman Bishop. “It is imperative that both sides do the right thing for America by improving the economy of tomorrow through controlling the spending of today. I am proud to stand with the Blue Dog Coalition on this legislation as it is a great step towards working together to find progress for the future.”
“This is one of many commonsense, good government steps we can take in Congress to get our debt and deficits under control,” said Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Chair of the Blue Dog Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility. “I have been working on this bill for a long time and am pleased to see it pass with such strong bipartisan support. We, as a body, need to continue to hammer away at those that are defrauding taxpayers, and we must continue to strengthen our recovery and get our economy humming again.”
Among many other measures, H.R. 4053 will help federal agencies cut down on wasteful spending by creating a government-wide Do Not Pay List to prevent improper payments, identify a list of high-priority federal programs for greater levels of oversight, and block payments to deceased recipients. H.R. 4053 builds on a similar improper payments law passed last year, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010, which was part of the Blue Dogs’ Blueprint for Fiscal Reform – a 15-point plan to balance the budget and lay the groundwork for sound fiscal policies over the long term.