Speeches & Testimony

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2662, the IG Independence and Empowerment Act, of which I am a cosponsor.

The work of our Inspectors General throughout government in providing an independent, objective and professional review and assessment of legal compliance and waste, fraud and abuse is critical to the overall functioning of government and to ensuring public trust and confidence in government. Equally, efforts to weaken, politicize, influence and cow our Inspectors Generals are direct threats to smooth government functioning, efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars and the public trust and cannot be tolerated.

Chair Maloney’s bill takes some of the best recommendations from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to ensure Inspectors General independence, increase transparency and improve the effectiveness of one of our government’s major checks mechanisms. This much-needed bill will improve the work of our Inspectors General community, which is even more critical now as we expend literally trillions of dollars in emergency COVID-19 relief.

I especially appreciate that this bill includes elements of Congressman Cooper’s Inspectors General Independence Act, which I also cosponsored and which was endorsed by my Blue Dog Coalition last Congress because of its focus on issues related to fiscal responsibility, good governance and national security.

I also appreciate the Committee’s support of the amendment submitted by Congresswoman Bourdeaux, Chair of the Blue Dogs Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Government Reform, which ensures that Inspectors General and their staffs receive sufficient training on the remedies available to them, specifically suspension or debarment, to fully address identified private sector government contracting waste, fraud or abuse.

 This is a solid and much-needed improvement for one of our federal government’s most valuable communities, and I urge its passage.