Today,
I’ve come to speak on the importance of inspectors general, or IGs.
IGs
play an important role watchdogging executive branch agencies.
They
help make sure government bureaucrats are held accountable when they engage in
waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer money.
IGs
are force multipliers for congress in overseeing the executive branch.
They’re
charged with keeping congress informed of wrongdoing, and to provide objective,
nonpartisan recommendations on even the most politically sensitive issues.
As
of today, there are currently 13 IG vacancies across the federal government.
Some
have nominees, some don’t, and some haven’t had senate confirmed IGs in years.
One
IG vacancy that I’ve paid special attention to over the years is that of the
Department of Defense (DoD).
Believe
it or not, that office has not had a senate-confirmed IG in more than six years.
The
DoD has an annual budget of well over $700 billion.
And
as of today, it looks like they’ll have much more next fiscal year.
Now,
I’ve spent many years calling out waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer money at
the DoD, and I know full well the importance of having a Senate confirmed IG in
place at the department.
Having
an independent and effective watchdog at this post is critical to keeping the
Congress informed of all the tomfoolery that happens at DoD.
Whether
that be paying exorbitant amounts of money for a hammer, constructing buildings
in foreign countries that remain vacant to this day, or failing to hold
contractors accountable – it happens time and time again.
We
in congress need a watchdog with teeth, not afraid to fight off the corporate
fat cats who seek to enrich themselves off the backs of the American taxpayer.
Some
of these contractors have made careers from ripping off the taxpayer through
wasteful spending at the DoD.
A
few thousand dollars here, a couple million there – it’s all waste. We need a
watchdog at this post and we need it now.
I
know my colleagues here in the senate share my belief in the importance of
having senate-confirmed IGs in these vital roles.
The
president must act to nominate, and the senate should confirm, qualified and
effective watchdogs to vacancies like this.
