Reducing Government Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: Lee Schalk on The Schilling Show (Charlottesville, VA)

ALEC Senior Vice President of Policy Lee Schalk recently joined on The Schilling Show to discuss ongoing efforts at the federal and state levels — and at ALEC — to reduce government waste, fraud, and abuse.

The conversation started with Schilling asking listeners at home for a general overview of ALEC as an organization and its general principles.

“Our core principles, our guiding North Star, are the principles of limited government, free markets, and federalism,” Schalk emphasized.

“In our view, it was the states that created the federal government, not the other way around, and those principles guide everything that we do from a policy perspective.”

He explained further how ALEC brings lawmakers together from across the country to exchange ideas and best practices.

“Whether that’s on education policy or taxes, or even our topic today, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse through all levels of government,” Schalk noted, “ALEC is a storied organization, a great organization, and we’ve got members in every single state.”

Schilling asked how government fraud is being addressed from both a federal and a state level. Schalk referenced the Vice President J.D. Vance’s Fraud Task Force as one such example.

“Vice President Vance has been tasked with leading this federal government-wide effort, working with the states to root out that waste, fraud, and abuse,” Schalk explained.

“This is such an important issue for all Americans, and the timing of it couldn’t be better. It should be such a nonpartisan issue, and something that’s so encouraging, when you see the report from just the other day, J.D. Vance said $160 billion already is what we have recovered from this national effort.”

Schalk also noted the lack of media coverage on this issue, suggesting that it is up to the public to raise awareness.

“It’s up to us to talk about this, because we’re not seeing it enough in the mainstream,” he said. “I’ll give you a great example of that, of the $160 billion, there was $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans from the COVID-19 pandemic era, largely stemming from the Paycheck Protection Program.”

Schilling later brought up California’s AB 2624, the Stop Nick Shirley Act, which targets whistleblowers like Nick Shirley. Schalk reinforced the need for a nonpartisan approach to addressing fraud and going after the perpetrators rather than the whistleblowers.

“There are some more interested in going after the whistleblowers than they are going after the fraud itself, and that has to change,” Schalk emphasized. “We’ve got to come together as a country. This has to be a nonpartisan issue.”

The conversation concluded with Schilling asking what additional ALEC resources people can look to regarding state efforts to reduce government waste, fraud, and abuse. Schalk directed listeners to check out the ALEC Government Efficiency Coalition for more information.

“Through the ALEC Government Efficiency Coalition, you’ll find resources to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in your state.”