Todays Leaders

For the past 25 years numerous watchdog groups and commissions have described in great detail enormous
amounts of waste, fraud and inefficiency in the federal government. In the 1980s, for example, President Reagan's
Grace Commission concluded that as many as one out of every three taxpayer dollars is squandered through
government waste and inefficiency. Unfortunately, this problem is getting worse, not better. Even the September 11
terrorist attacks could not persuade Congress to trim waste. Since September 11, nondefense discretionary
spending has increased at nearly three times the rate of inflation while total discretionary spending has increased by
40 percent.

Reckless and unsustainable spending is inexcusable at a time when our nation is at war, and when major
entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are headed toward bankruptcy. As a member of the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs I will work tirelessly to conduct effective and rigorous
oversight of the federal government. Every federal agency and program should be subject to sunset and review
requirements that will force them to justify their existence. Effective oversight also should prompt Congress to
consider whether some functions of the federal government could be better performed in the private sector.