Norm Coleman: faux champion of oversight

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), the Senator you can count on when it doesn't matter, is once again challenging for the title of Republican Champion of Oversight. This would be the equivalent of world's sharpest spoon, largest shrimp, tallest midget, etc. He's worked himself up into an a high dudgeon over fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims from dead doctors.

“This is simply unacceptable — making sure that the prescribing doctor is alive before paying a claim should be a no-brainer,” Sen. Norm Coleman, the committee’s ranking Republican said in a statement. “It’s time to close this $100 million loophole.”
(Wall Street Journal)

Norm wants to save American taxpayers 2% of what we spend in Iraq each week. A few votes against the occupation from Norm would better represent the will of Minnesotans and save us billions. We spend about $3.5 billion per week in Iraq of which contractors get $1.4 billion. Considering how much waste, fraud and incompetence is being uncovered amongst the contractors, this $92.8m is likely less than a week's worth of waste, fraud and incompetence amongst the contractors.

The nation's doctors are plenty steamed at pending cuts in Medicare reimbursement. But they can take comfort in one small fact: If they can submit new claims after they're dead, Medicare will keep paying for years.

The agency paid $92.8 million worth of claims submitted under the names of dead doctors between 2000 and 2007, according to a Senate investigation. The crooks who sent the bills used the names of some 17,000 dead docs to submit about a half-million claims. About 16% of the doctors whose names and identification were used had been dead for 10 or more years.
(Wall Street Journal)

So congratulations are in order for Norm because he's giving Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) a run for the money. Of course this investigation fits in perfectly with Norm's oversight criterion:

• Conservatives hate the entity or person.
• The conservative in question has already been thrown under the bus.
• No conservatives will be injured by the investigation.

For a complete list of all the things Norm failed to investigate as Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations from 2003-2007, please visit the

Oversight page of the Norm Coleman Weasel Meter