We’re creating a single electronic medical record for our men and women in uniform that will follow them from the day they enlist until the day that they are laid to rest. We’re revamping（修改，翻新） our Social Security and citizenship processes so that folks can book appointments and check the status of their applications online. We’ve created mobile apps that provide everything from disaster assistance to product safety information to the latest wait times for security lines at your local airport.
And we’ve begun an unprecedented effort to put an end to a problem known as improper payments, which is the purpose of the bill that I’m signing into law today. Now, these are payments sent by the government to the wrong person, or for the wrong reasons, or in the wrong amount. Payments to a defense contractor that’s been disbarred for（因……不准） shoddy work but somehow managed to get through the system. Payments to companies that haven’t paid their taxes, or to folks who are incarcerated（监禁） –- or who are dead.
Sometimes these payments are the result of innocent mistakes or reflect valid（有效的，正当的） claims that were paid at the wrong time. But sometimes, they result from abuses by scam（欺诈） artists and crooked（弯曲的，不正当的） companies. And all told, they added up to $110 billion. I want everybody to understand -- just get some perspective on that. That is more than the budgets of the Department of Education and the Small Business Administration combined. And that’s unacceptable.
That’s why, earlier this year, I directed our federal agencies to launch rigorous（严格的，严密的） audits（审计） conducted by auditors who are paid based on how many abuses or errors they uncover -– the more they find, the more money they make. So they are highly incentivized. We’re also creating a “Do Not Pay” list –- a consolidated（巩固的，统一的） database of every individual and company that’s ineligible（不合格的） for federal payments. Before checks are mailed, agencies will be required to check this list to make sure that the payment is to the right person, in the right amount, for the right reason.
With these new tools, the challenge I’m making to my team today is to reduce improper payments by $50 billion between now and 2012. This goal is fully achievable due in no small part to some of the great work of the members of Congress standing with me today, particularly Senator Tom Carper and Representative Patrick Murphy, who sponsored the bill I’m about to sign and worked with all the other members of Congress who are here today to get it passed.
And I think, by the way, it’s worth noting that this bill passed unanimously（全体一致地） in both the House and the Senate -– a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish when we put partisanship（党派偏见） aside and do what’s best for the people we serve.
So this bill will dramatically expand and intensify our efforts to end improper payments. And going forward, every agency in our government will be required to conduct annual assessments to determine which of their programs are at risk of making improper payments. Agencies will be required to audit more of their programs and recapture more taxpayer dollars. And we now have rigorous enforcement mechanisms to hold agencies accountable for how much money they save.
So, in large part, thanks to the great work of the people in this room, I think we’re headed in the right direction. And today, I’m pleased to announce that I will be charging Jack Lew, my choice for director of Office of Management and Budget -- once Peter Orszag, the current OMB director, departs -- with building on the good work that Peter began. I’m entrusting Jack with carrying forward our Accountable Government Initiative in the months ahead. I will be asking him and Jeff to give me regular updates on our progress in cutting waste and making our government more efficient and effective.
And as the only OMB director in history to preside over a budget surplus for three consecutive years, Jack Lew knows a thing or two about making government work. I’m confident he’s up to the challenge of building the kind of government that the American people expect and deserve -– one that spends their money wisely, serves their interests well, and is fully worthy of their trust and respect.
So I want to again thank these outstanding members of Congress who are here today who have been on the case in both chambers for quite some time. I want to thank all the people who worked on this bill in this room for your outstanding efforts.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless America. And let me sign this bill. (Applause.)
(The bill is signed.) (Applause.)
END 11:39 A.M. EDT
