by Dr. Larry Moses
No one asked me but…Last Wednesday morning, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was meeting on national television to investigate whether or not Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs during his major league baseball career. For five hours, I was intrigued by watching our government in action. Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-California) is the committee chair.
Just a thought: Are all the federal government representatives from California obnoxious or are only the ones that end up on television? While watching this committee in action I thought of a few questions I would like to ask Congressman Waxman. This is an imaginary interview I had during those five hours and the answers I received.
Doc: Mr. Waxman, there was a tax shortfall last year. This shortfall included $290 billon in uncollected taxes, $2.5 billion under-taxing of the very wealthy and $60 billion in tax breaks the IRS could not explain. This totals out to a figure of $352.5 billion. This is more than double the average yearly sum spent on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. How much better off would we be if we reformed the American tax system? Shouldn’t your reform committee do something to reform the Internal Revenue Service?
Congressman Waxman: I think Roger Clemens used steroids and this is blight on the American way of life.
Doc: Mr. Waxman, the United States spends six times more than any other industrialized nation on health care administrative costs and insurance. Senator Tom Coburn (R. Oklahoma), found as much as $60 billion a year in fraud, waste and overpayments in the administration of Medicare and Medicaid. These are the programs that are supposed to cover the elderly and low-income patients in America. Mr. Waxman should there not be some kind of reform of this program?
Congressman Waxman: I believe Mr. Clemens attended a party at Jose Conseco’s house.
Doc: Mr. Waxman, the Department of Defense routinely hands out no-bid and cost-plus contracts, under which contractors get reimbursed for their cost plus a certain percentage of the contract figure. Billions of dollars are still being spent on high-cost weapons designed to fight yesterday’s wars. The Pentagon admits it can’t account for more than $1 trillion (that’s with a T) and the Heritage Foundation is pushing Congress to add audit provisions to the next defense budget. Why haven’t we had audit provisions all along? Shouldn’t your reform committee do something about this?
Congressman Waxman: Mr. Clemens talked to his nanny before she could testify before this committee. I believe he tried to influence her testimony. Doc: Mr. Waxman, two of the best-known offenders of farm subsidy are the deceased Enron CEO who received $23,326 for conservation land in Missouri and Ted Turner who got $590,823 for farms in four states from 1995-2005. A Cato Institute study found that in 2005 two thirds of farm subsidies went to the richest 10 percent of the recipients, many who live in New York City. Why is a program, designed to help the family farmer, being abused in such a manner?
Congressman Waxman: Either Mr. Clemens or Mr. McNamee is lying.
Doc: Mr. Waxman, the federal Food Stamp Program is ripped off for more than $1 billion in fraudulent claims a year. This is in the form of overpayments to people who work and earn more than the program’s rules allow. Shouldn’t the committee on Government Oversight and Accountability be interested in solving this problem?
Congressman Waxman: Mr. McNamee while you made living selling illegal drugs and lied numerous times while testifying before a previous committee investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs by major league baseball players I would like to apologize for what some of the committee members said about your integrity today.
Doc: Thank you for your time and succulent answers, Congressman Waxman. I have a number of other questions but I see Senator Arlen Specter, from the Senate Justice Committee. Senator Specter, can I ask you a question?
Senator Specter: Sure, I am always glad to talk to the press.
Doc: Apparently, the present federal administration can tap any American’s phone, without a warrant as long as it is done in the name of national defense. What are you as a member of the Judiciary Oversight Committee doing about the government’s encroachment on the American citizen’s right to privacy?
Senator Specter: Sorry, no time to deal with that. I am busy making sure the New England Patriots don’t tape any more practices of their rivals in the National Football league. It wasn’t bad enough that they were filming defensive signals of the New York Jets. They actually may have film the walk through of the Rams at the Super Bowl four years ago. The very basic principle of right to privacy, so strongly protected by our Constitution, may have been violated. Can you imagine the hit our great democracy will suffer if we don’t stop these outrages?
Doc: I can only say I am sleeping much better knowing that men like Congressman Henry Waxman and Senator Arlen Specter are protecting me from the Bill Belichicks and the Roger Clemens of the world.
Thought of the week…Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of experience comes from bad judgment.
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