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Return to Article: Freshman Missouri senator sets out to tackle government waste

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  Where have I heard this before? It's deja vu all over again! New members of Congress have been saying this for years, only to be frustrated by the inertia and corruption they encounter when they finally get to D.C. The problems are too ingrained, and too enormous for any one person, or group, to fix. Does anyone remember the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"? Good luck, Senator, you'll need it!

  GovExec.com reader Posted February 15, 2007 12:06 PM
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  The lady needs to get on to things that are important! She never is going to find enough waste to fund the liabilities of social security and Medicare! She should start working on these areas to fix the problems that get worse everyday the Congress does nothing! The congress is wasting the most by not addressing these issues. If she really wants to do anything useful she should get on these issues.

  Secondarily she could get involved in trade with foreign countries and attempt to re-establish the USA as a leader in world trade and not just a free trade advocate at the cost of the USA. We have gone much too far to support China and kill the USA and we need congressmen that will reverse that course. There has to be parity for slave labor and prison labor and environmental destruction in international trade that does not exist today! China sold M11 missiles to Pakistan and Russia has supplied weapons to Iran that are finding their way into Iraq to kill US citizens. Congress should be using trade policy to adjust for these inequities and not sending troops at great cost to fight meaningless wars against the weapons of Russia and China while we foster "free-trade" with these killer countries!

  Get on Important Things Posted February 15, 2007 9:42 AM
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  I wish her all the luck in the world and the strength to keep going.

  My best guess after living in the government for almost two decades is that she will be ground down by all the special interest groups that work to fund our political process. If she wants to remain a senator and raise the cold hard cash she won't be able to afford to crusade against these special interests that live off of government waste.

  It has only been 12 short years since all those Republican crusaders came riding into D.C. to get rid of waste and corruption. 2006 was an interesting year for putting in jail some of those crusaders for waste and corruption and watching them get bounced from power for their dysfunction. After watching our new speaker ask for those federal plane trips home for her and her family and seeing her in action over these past few weeks my best guess is the Democratic Party control will be pretty short lived.

  The Washington culture wins because it so deeply entrenched that no one crusader or group of crusaders can win if they want to keep their power or until the American people get fed up and throw the bums out. But I do wish the good Missouri Senator well and Godspeed in her joust against the windmills.

  GovExec.com reader Posted February 5, 2007 11:29 AM
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  One can hope she means it and others will not stand in her way.

  a taxpayer and a federal worker Posted February 5, 2007 7:55 AM
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  Claire McCaskill really needs to learn something about the GAO! Most of the GAO audits I have been involved with illustrate the total ignorance of the GAO auditor with regard to what is required and how things should be done.

  Walker has been crying for accrual accounting for a long time and now he has it. However, his auditors have no knowledge of accrual accounting and they do not listen to anyone that does. What we have is political accounting that is totally out of line and bad for making decisions. I guess the senator from Missouri will want to be shown but there is no one in GAO or the agencies that can do anything correctly under accrual accounting.

  Even Walker has demonstrated his inability to understand accrual accounting because it surely does not provide anyone with information that is goood for operating decisions! We are destroying a great cash accounting system that is necessary for good operations and implementing (for millions of dollars) an accrual accounting system that is no good to anyone for anything!

  taxpayer Posted February 5, 2007 6:43 AM