Washington, Oct 28, 2005 -

Today the House passed the conference report on H.R. 2744, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006.  The bill included a request by U.S. Representative John R. Carter (TX-31) for $3.6 million for a crop insurance waste, fraud and abuse detection system that Tarleton State University’s Center for Agriculture Excellence has developed.

            “I am glad to see Tarleton receive funding for this system. They have taken today’s computer technology and use_  it to investigate scams and exploitation within the crop insurance industry,” said Carter.  “This funding is good for Tarleton, Stephenville and the American taxpayer.”

            Tarleton State University's Center for Agriculture Excellence (CAE) in Stephenville, TX, has developed a data mining system for detecting waste, fraud and abuse in the crop insurance industry for the Risk Management Agency of USDA.  For more than four years and for an investment of approximately $18 million, the program has realized a savings of approximately $300 million in fraudulent claims and that equates to a 23 to one return on investment.