Rep. Blake Moore highlights $360B CY2025 deficit drop and CMS hospice fraud crackdown
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Why this grade: Graded B: core fiscal figures align with CBO/CRFB and GAO data; hospice and NY UI fraud examples match 2026 CMS/DOL reports, but speech omits context on still-high deficits and attributes gains primarily to one party without balanced sourcing.
Why this lean: Emphasizes Republican-led spending constraints, fraud enforcement, and contrasts with prior administration while downplaying bipartisan or ongoing deficit drivers.
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Summary
Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) delivered a special order speech on the federal deficit, citing a $360 billion reduction in calendar year 2025 versus 2024. He highlighted GAO fraud estimates, specific cases of hospice and unemployment insurance fraud, and ongoing agency enforcement actions. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) joined briefly to discuss the $39 trillion debt and appropriations savings. The segment focused on fraud prevention legislation and data analytics successes under the current administration.
Editorial Assessment
The broadcast accurately relays verifiable deficit reduction and fraud enforcement figures from primary sources like CBO, CRFB, GAO, CMS, and DOL. Viewers miss fuller context that FY2025 deficits remained near $1.8 trillion and that some 2025 revenue gains (tariffs) face partial refunds post-rulings. Framing credits Republican control and specific policies while providing limited counter-evidence or multi-year trends. No major falsehoods, but selective emphasis on positive enforcement anecdotes without equivalent scrutiny of program efficacy or broader fiscal trajectory.
Key Moments
$360 billion deficit reduction in CY2025 vs CY2024
CRFB/CBO data confirm ~$369 billion drop from $2.0T to $1.7T in calendar year 2025.
GAO estimates up to $500 billion annual federal fraud losses
GAO 2024 report range $233B-$521B based on FY2018-2022 data; speaker rounds upper end.
Hundreds of fraudulent LA hospices suspended, with low response to verification letters
2026 CMS actions suspended ~447-800 providers in LA area amid task force investigations.
NY unemployment fraud: $750M improper and $507M fraudulent payments in 2025
DOL OIG July 2026 release matches figures exactly; strike team deployment confirmed.
Notable Concerns
- Partisan attribution of deficit reduction without noting revenue and outlay details from neutral analyses
- Fraud estimates presented as current annual losses despite originating from 2018-2022 GAO analysis
Sources Consulted
- 12-Month Rolling Deficit is $1.7 Trillion in Calendar Year 2025
- Fraud Risk Management: 2018-2022 Data Show Federal Government Loses an Estimated $233 Billion to $521 Billion Annually to Fraud
- CMS Announces Aggressive Nationwide Crackdown on Fraud with Six-Month Hospice and Home Health Agency Enrollment Moratoria
- U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General Deploys Joint Strike Team to New York
- Monthly Budget Review: Summary for Fiscal Year 2025
- U.S. Deficit Decreases 2.8 Percent to $1.8 Trillion in FY2025