Obama Supports Bill to Cut Government Waste

This is an excerpt from a presidential press release today:

Presidential Memorandum on Payment Recapture Audits. The President will sign a presidential memorandum today that directs all federal departments and agencies to expand and intensify their use of payment recapture audits under the authority they currently have. It is anticipated that using the payment recapture audits will return at least $2 billion over the next three years to American taxpayers – double the current amount of projected recovered costs.

Support the bipartisan Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act. Since government agencies can only use recaptured fund to pay for these audits in specific situations, the President today is announcing his support for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, a bipartisan bill that would expand the ability of government agencies to fund these specialized audits with recaptured payments. The bill has been offered by Senators Tom Carper, D-Del., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Joseph Lieberman, I.D.-Conn., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John McCain, R-Ariz. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House by Representatives Patrick Murphy, D-Penn., and Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.