VIDEO: Capito Discusses DOGE and Fighting Government Waste

Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Capito's floor speech.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor highlighting the importance of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the need to eliminate wasteful spending in the federal government.

Senator Capito's floor remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below:

"Mr./Madame President,

"I rise today to speak about an issue weighing heavily on the American worker and taxpayer.

"That is, the waste, fraud, and abuse rampant in the federal government.

"And by 'heavily,' I mean very heavily, because billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars are at stake.

"Under President Biden, wasteful government spending spiraled out of control, harming hardworking Americans and their livelihoods.

"Each misspent dollar represents a missed opportunity for our neighbors, our families, and our communities.

"That ends with our incoming Republican government.

"In the 119th Congress, federal spending comes with a promissory note of accountability to the American people.

"No more spendthrift bureaucrats getting out of line.

"No more blank checks or wild excesses.

"The American people have had enough; they're ready for the government to work for them.

"Republicans are proud to have the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, on our side in this fight.

"I know Elon and Vivek are both busy men, so I want to thank them especially for conceiving this idea and dedicating their time and energy to eliminating government waste.

"Like a one-two punch, Congress and the DOGE commission will identify and address the most flagrant abuses of the federal bureaucracy.

"DOGE will provide the ideas from these two men, and Congress will bring the constitutional oversight and legislative authority.

"We plan to hit the ground running, on Day One of the Trump administration, to take aim at the worst excesses left over from the Biden administration.

"And when it comes to wasteful government spending in the jurisdiction of my Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, look no further than the groundwork laid out by my office over the past year.

"The committee's investigative work centers on the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, or the IRA, which has been a massive source of funding with little oversight.

"The IRA, a bill passed with only Democrat votes, authorized billions of dollars in new handouts from the EPA to Democrat-aligned groups.

"And recently, an EPA employee admitted its current grantmaking process is akin to 'throwing gold bars off the Titanic.'

"Let me repeat his exact words again: 'throwing gold bars off the Titanic.'

"We've reached unprecedented levels of waste, fraud, and abuse.

"The American people rejected this kind of reckless governance in November, but the EPA continues to move full steam ahead.

"Bureaucrats are desperately writing checks because, come January 20th, they know President Trump will take the checkbook away.

"My committee already issued a clear warning to the EPA in a letter in December.

"We demanded to know who is getting these 'gold bars' and how many they are getting.

"Most importantly, we want a clear paper trail so that bureaucrats at the EPA can't bury wasteful spending on their way out the door.

"The committee has already uncovered handouts to groups that are Anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, anti-police, and anti-border security.

"Not a dollar more.

"For example, of the $3 billion in the IRA dedicated to the new Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant program, EPA announced it would give $50 million to the Climate Justice Alliance, $50 million to New York Immigrant Coalition and $100 million to the NDN Collective.

"The Climate Justice Alliance promotes wildly anti-Semitic rhetoric.

"The New York Immigrant Coalition advocates for radical open border policies.

"And, most egregiously, the NDN Collective goes so far as to call America an evil country.

"Let me be clear: these groups should not receive one dime of taxpayer money.

"The American people should be outraged at this abuse of their tax dollars.

"These funds are meant to benefit them, not to prop-up radical political groups or line the pockets of bureaucrats with questionable priorities.

"Taxpayer dollars should never go to organizations that hate America or our values.

"To those who say there's no alternative, that government is and always will be wasteful, I say: look to West Virginia.

"My home state, the Mountain State, consistently generates large budget surpluses, demonstrating that we can protect our values and our interests without recklessly spending the taxpayer's hard-earned dollars.

"I think it's time we bring some of that good 'ole West Virginia thrift to the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.

"With the president, the House, the Senate, and the DOGE commission all on the same page and working together, we are poised to do just that.

"If we are to spend taxpayers' money, and I do believe there is an Article I role for limited congressional spending, it must be in the furtherance and benefit of our nation.

"The American taxpayer deserves a government that respects their hard-earned dollars.

"The relationship between the government and its citizens has been frayed by years of neglect, waste, and distrust.

"Mending this relationship will not happen overnight.

"It is a long process, but it is a process Republicans are prepared to embrace and undertake.

"We will end this reckless spending spree.

"We will put an end to bureaucratic waste.

"And we will aim to ensure that every dollar that leaves the federal treasury is used in service to the American people.

"This is our commitment: to rebuild trust, to prioritize the needs of the people, and to ensure that the government serves them.

"Not the other way around.

"Thank you, and I yield the floor."

# # #

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.