April '10 Nevada Government—U.S. Congresswoman Dina Titus Column

Titus on Bill to Save Taxpayers Nearly $100 Billion on Improper Payments by Federal Agencies

April 28, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District supported legislation today that saves taxpayers nearly $100 billion a year by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs. H.R. 3393, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, improves accountability and oversight on the part of federal agencies.

“Supporting this bill represents my latest effort to change how Washington works,” Congresswoman Titus said. “For too long, taxpayer money has been wasted through fraud and abuse. It’s time to make our government work smarter and more efficiently for the American people. We need to take a page from Nevada families who are doing more with less. Reforming an inefficient system will prevent billions of dollars from being thrown away each year.”

According to the Office of Management and Budget, federal agencies were estimated to have made nearly $98 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2009. Improper payments occur when a federal agency pays too much, pays twice, or pays for the wrong product or service. These improper payments may occur as a result of fraud or poor financial management systems that do not detect or prevent mistakes before federal dollars are misspent.

This legislation would help identify, reduce, and eliminate improper payments, as well as recover lost funds that federal agencies have improperly spent. Specifically, the bill contains provisions to increase transparency by lowering the improper payment threshold for agencies. Currently, agencies are only required to report on improper payments that exceed both $10 million and 2.5 percent of total program payments. It also requires agencies to develop action plans to avoid future waste, recover overpayments, and hold agencies accountable. Under current law, agencies are only required to seek to recover overpayments they make if they hand out more than $500 million in payments to contractors each year. The bill requires all agencies with outlays of more than $1 million to perform recovery audits on their programs and activities.

Titus Commemorates Workers Memorial Day

April 28, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District spoke on the House floor this morning on Workers Memorial Day, which is commemorated every year on April 28. Below are her remarks as delivered. Click here to watch Titus’ speech.

“Today I join with people across the country to commemorate Workers Memorial Day, honoring workers killed, injured, or harmed at work.

“Unfortunately, workers in Nevada are all too aware of the dangers they face in the workplace. A number of deaths on the job in recent years led to Nevada being the first state in the country to undergo an in-depth review that highlighted the problems facing the state’s OSHA program. This review made it clear to me that federal OSHA needs an additional option to work with states that are not meeting federal standards. Currently OSHA can only suggest improvements or completely take over the state’s program.

“That’s why I introduced the Ensuring Worker Safety Act. This legislation aims to protect both workers and states’ rights by giving federal OSHA additional tools to make sure that state OSHA plans, like Nevada’s, are at least as effective as federal standards and enforcement.

“The slogan of Workers Memorial Day is ‘Remember the dead—Fight for the living.’ That’s what I intend to do in Congress.”

Titus: Blocking Congressional Pay Raise Sends a Message That We Are Changing the Way Business Is Done in Washington

April 27, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District spoke today on the House floor in support of legislation she cosponsored to block the automatic pay raise for members of Congress. Below are her remarks as delivered. Click here to watch Titus’ speech.

“Later today, the House will consider legislation to stop the automatic pay raise for members of Congress during this fiscal year. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill because I believe strongly that members of Congress should not receive a pay raise when so many families in Nevada are struggling with job loss, homes that are underwater, and uncertainty about their economic future.

“Unemployment in my district has reached record levels, the highest in 25 years. Families are tightening their belts and too many hard-working Nevadans are desperate to find a job. It would be unconscionable during this time of economic hardship for members of Congress to receive an automatic pay raise. Our action today will send a message to the American people that we are changing the way that business is done in Washington and we are serious about putting our economy on the path to recovery and restoring economic security for all Americans.”

Titus Statement on Signing of TRICARE Affirmation Act

April 26, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District released the following statement today on the President’s signing of the TRICARE Affirmation Act, which explicitly states that TRICARE and nonappropriated fund (NAF) health plans meet all of the health care requirements for individual health insurance under the recently enacted health care reform law.

“The brave men and women who are serving our country and sacrificing for our security deserve quality affordable health care. Under the recently enacted health care reform service members, military retirees, and their families will continue to receive the care they have earned. With the President’s signature on the TRICARE Affirmation Act, it will be abundantly clear that nothing in the health care reform bill will negatively impact the care our veterans receive. I often hear from military families who are very pleased with their TRICARE coverage and I worked hard to ensure that this coverage would not be changed.

“Service members covered by TRICARE meet the shared responsibility requirement and will not face any changes or penalties under this reform. The legislation signed by the President affirms this fact.”

Titus Testifies on OSHA Legislation Before Nevada Legislative Commission Subcommittee

April 23, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District testified today via telephone before the Nevada Legislative Commission’s Subcommittee to Review the U.S. Department of Labor’s Report on the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Program. Titus discussed the Ensuring Worker Safety Act, which she introduced last month. Below are her remarks as prepared.

“Thank you to the Subcommittee for giving me this opportunity to testify. I’m sorry I can’t be there in person, but I certainly appreciate the chance to share with you some of what is going on in Washington around the important issue of worker safety, particularly as it relates to state OSHA plans.

“As you know, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 set out a federal-state framework for workplace safety and health. Under existing law, states may either apply to the federal Department of Labor (DOL) to operate their own state health and safety program—run a state plan—or remain under federal OSHA authority. To be approved, states must demonstrate that their program standards and enforcement are ‘at least as effective’ as federal OSHA. Nevada is one of 22 states and territories where all health and safety enforcement is done by state OSHA programs. There are an additional five states that operate state OHSA programs only for state and local government employees where federal OSHA is prohibited by law from having authority.

“Once federal OSHA issues final approval for a state plan, OSHA is extremely limited in its authority to hold state plans accountable. If OSHA determines that an approved state plan is not ‘at least as effective as’ federal standards and enforcement, its only recourse to compel changes to an underperforming program is to terminate the state plan, a drastic step that would remove state control, leave state and local government employees unprotected, and add costs to the federal Department of Labor for funding and running a health and safety program in the state.

“Nevada currently finds itself in the situation where federal OSHA has identified problems with the state plan—deficiencies that have left workers exposed to serious health and safety hazards—and is working with the state Occupational Safety and Health Program to address these deficiencies. But the fact remains that if Nevada chose not to cooperate, federal OSHA would have only two options, both at the extreme end of the spectrum: do nothing and leave workers unprotected, or end the state plan.

“That is why, based on Nevada’s experience, I authored and introduced the Ensuring Worker Safety Act, H.R. 4864, which aims to protect workers by assuring that state plans are at least as effective as federal standards and enforcement, while also protecting states’ rights by giving OSHA options other than complete plan termination when a state plan is found to be underperforming.

“Specifically, the Ensuring Worker Safety Act:

Establishes a formal mechanism for federal OSHA to identify a problem with a state plan and compel a remedy without beginning the process for withdrawing approval;

Ensures continued application of health and safety regulations by providing federal OSHA with concurrent enforcement authority for the duration of the time that a state plan is formally remedying deficiencies or being withdrawn, after 30 days notice of official federal action and an opportunity for a public hearing;

Holds federal OSHA accountable for providing strong oversight and guidance to state plans by establishing a regular Government Accountability Office (GAO) study – one every five years – to look at the effectiveness of state plans and the Secretary of Labor’s oversight of such plans; and

Specifically instructs GAO to study and report on whether the federal funding formula for state plans is fair and adequate – a formula that currently underfunds Nevada’s program. Nevada is paying about 75 percent of the cost of running the plan although it was set up to be split between the federal government and the state.

“In crafting this bill I worked closely with the Education and Labor Committee, of which I am a member. I am pleased that both the Chairman of the full committee, George Miller, and the Chairwoman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, Lynn Woolsey, are cosponsors of my bill. With more in-depth state plan reviews underway by the Department of Labor and the strong commitment to worker safety of Chairman Miller and Chairwoman Woolsey, I expect the Education and Labor Committee to take up some workplace safety legislation before the end of the year.

“You will hear in a moment an update about the Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA). PAWA would increase many worker protections for the federal health and safety programs, but cannot automatically apply those changes to states like Nevada that have an approved state plan; PAWA instead instructs these states to change their plans to conform to changes in federal law. I will continue to work with the Committee to make sure that the provisions of my bill are included in any OSHA-related legislation.

“Thank you again for providing me this opportunity to testify about the Ensuring Worker Safety Act. I look forward to work with you as this process moves forward, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.”

Titus Applauds NRC Decision to Consider Pulling Yucca Mountain License

April 23, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District released the following statement today on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) decision to consider the Department of Energy motion to withdraw the license application for Yucca Mountain.

“Our long fight against turning Nevada into a nuclear waste dumping ground is one step closer to an end following the NRC’s decision today. The science is clear; this project was wrong from the start, and I am hopeful the NRC will rule in our favor. From eliminating funding in the budget to pulling the DOE application, we are closer than ever to putting an end to Yucca Mountain.”