The sheer volume of government waste in Washington is sickening. It is one of the most infuriating byproducts of the rampant mismanagement within the federal government – this is something we can wholeheartedly agree on. Bureaucrats in Washington love to treat taxpayer dollars as if they were nothing more than Monopoly money, and I take great issue with that. Every tax dollar from hardworking Americans should be treated with the utmost care, and I have always made it a priority to expose government waste and uproot it like the weed it truly is. In fact, I have some news to share with you about a piece of legislation I’ve recently supported that will do just that.

House Republicans recently passed H.R. 6276, the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies (USE IT) Act, legislation that directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish a set of methods to measure occupancy in public buildings and federally leased space. But how exactly does it deal with the issue of tackling government waste? Well, for some context, in 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the utilization rate of headquarters buildings for certain agencies – such as the Department of Agriculture, Small Business Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to name a few – were as low as nine percent. This is a textbook example of government waste.

This legislation helps trim the bureaucratic fat and requires the GSA and OMB to ensure that no building utilization rate falls below 60 percent and, if it does, take steps to reduce or consolidate that space. If federal workers don’t return to the office, their space will be taken away from them. To add, in my opinion, those federal workers who still refuse to return to the office, and instead demand indefinite remote work, should be fired. A less costly, more efficient, and more accountable federal government is what every American deserves. I’ll continue to work my hardest, and do everything that I can, to meet that end.

My Newest Letter

On Tuesday, I sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure urging the agency to reevaluate the proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for 2025 that will harm seniors. CMS recently proposed a nearly 0.2% cut to the MA insurer reimbursement rate for 2025 which comes on the heels of the 1.12% cuts MA took in 2024. According to recent analysis, medical inflation will increase by 4% to 6% in 2025, while payments to MA plans will decrease by nearly .2%. This cut means that beneficiaries may experience an average $33 reduction in the value of supplemental benefits, premiums, and cost sharing per month, and more complex populations may experience a higher reduction of $50 per month.

To learn more, click here.

A New Bill

Recently, I introduced H.R. 7683, the Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act, alongside Representative Brandon Williams (R-NY). This legislation ensures that colleges and universities are fulfilling their First Amendment obligations by making free speech on campus a condition of receiving Title IV funding under the Higher Education Act (HEA). Specifically, this bill:

• Makes free speech on campus a condition of receiving Title IV funds under the HEA;
• Ensures students are educated on their First Amendment rights;
• Safeguards the freedoms of association and religion on campus;
• Prohibits institutions from forcing students, faculty, or applicants to take political litmus tests; and
• Requires all institutions to disclose annually First Amendment policies held by the institution.

To read a fact sheet about this legislation, click here.

Quote of The Week

“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand.”

-Milton Friedman

Have a blessed weekend,