Assemblyman Joe DeStefano has made rooting out government waste, fraud and abuse a priority, arguing that taxpayers should not be asked for more money until Albany does a better job protecting the money it already collects.
DeStefano has pushed for greater oversight of some of the state’s largest spending programs, including Medicaid and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
He backed legislation requiring a full forensic audit of the MTA after reports of unpaid tolls, overtime abuse and other financial problems. DeStefano argued that taxpayers deserve a complete accounting of how the authority spends billions of public dollars before Albany approves additional funding.
He has also taken aim at Medicaid fraud, sponsoring legislation designed to strengthen the state’s fraud-reporting system. His proposals would improve the handling and investigation of tips submitted to the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and establish financial rewards for credible information that leads investigators to fraud.
DeStefano has also supported legislation allowing counties to use advanced data-mining technology to identify suspicious Medicaid billing patterns and potential abuse.
“Every dollar lost to fraud or waste is a dollar taxpayers worked hard to earn,” DeStefano said. “Government has an obligation to make sure that money is spent responsibly and reaches the people and programs it was intended to help.”