In Veronique de Rugy’s testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, she noted: “In fiscal year 2010, the federal government spent $3.6 trillion dollars, or 24.6 percent of GDP, well above the historical average. The consequence of this spending was $1.3 trillion in budget deficits. A large part of this overspending was improper spending or spending that never should have happened at all.”