This week, Congressman Bart Gordon voted to eliminate $98 billion in waste and improper payments in the federal budget with his vote for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act.

“If a small business was overcharged by a delivery service or billed twice for a shipment, they’d follow up to correct the error, no matter how large or small,” Gordon said. “This bill will help the federal government guard taxpayers’ dollars with the same attention to detail.”

The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act would reduce the estimated $98 billion in improper payments – those that occur when a federal agency pays too much or pays twice for a product or service. The bill contains provisions to recover overpayments and to hold federal agencies accountable for avoiding future waste. The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act is a major element of the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, a comprehensive plan to reduce the deficit, balance the budget and lay the groundwork for sound fiscal policies over the long term.

Gordon was an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation, which now goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Gordon is a member of the Blue Dog coalition and has been a leader on fiscal discipline in Congress since first championing the original 1990 “pay-as-you-go” initiative, which is widely credited with producing the federal budget surpluses of the decade.