Federal statutes currently allow for 69 inspectors general (IG) at all cabinet departments, large agencies and other designated federal entities. These offices are charged with overseeing how tax dollars are spent. Since they are, in effect, “first responders” to potential waste, fraud, and mismanagement within the government, IGs are granted broad powers to ensure a level of independence over those they are auditing or investigating.
Update on CAGW’s FOIA Project
On May 12, 2009 Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) undertook an ambitious project to find out if members of Congress were trying to influence how the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), aka economic stimulus bill, were being spent.
Stimulating the Dead
When the federal government decided to spend $787 billion to stimulate the economy in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), most Americans understood, contrary to most of the tough talk about accountability and transparency, that a percentage of these funds would be wasted. To try and assuage these fears, Congress and Obama Administration declared that the stimulus money would be focused on “shovel ready” projects.
Stimulus not Stimulating
The White House announcement on May 20 of 100 projects in 100 days of the stimulus, a plan that was intended to be “timely, temporary, and targeted,” was greeted with great skepticism, including an ongoing dispute about the amount of money that has been spent and how many jobs have (or have not) been created.
CAGW’s FOIA Project
On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed an economic “stimulus” bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). More than $787 billion is slated to be spent through ARRA to help revive the economy.
Blue Dogs and PAYGO – Living in La La Land
On April 28, 2009, members of the so-called fiscally conservative “Blue Dog” Coalition introduced H.R. 2116, the “Fiscal Honesty and Accountability Act of 2009.” According to their website, the measure “would strengthen Congress’ commitment to fiscal responsibility and accountability by reinstituting statutory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules. The legislation, which would require both the House and Senate to abide by PAYGO rules if enacted into law, has been a cornerstone of the Blue Dogs’ efforts to restore fiscal discipline to the federal government.”
Weatherization Assistance Program – A Perfect Storm of Potential Waste?
President Obama’s $787 billion so-called “stimulus” bill, formally known as the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will have reverberations throughout the economy for years to come. The contained a wide range of new government spending programs as well as dramatic increases in existing programs, some of which had previously been funded with relatively small budgets.
The First Cut Is The Lamest, Not The Deepest
In February, President Obama introduced a $3.69 trillion budget for the 2010 fiscal year, a proposal that would, according the Heritage Foundation, increase spending by $1 trillion over the next ten years, lead to a 12 percent increase in discretionary spending, and leave permanent deficits averaging $600 billion even after the economy recovers. In a peace offering to get some political cover for this explosion of spending, President Obama called for his cabinet to make $100 million worth of spending cuts.
Ethical Lapses
In November, 2006, just after the sweeping victory by Democrats in the House of Representatives, the newly-minted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) promised that her leadership team would create “the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history.” This seems like ancient history now. Since then, the House has been rocked by several allegations of unethical conduct. Yet, the House leadership’s general reaction to the ethical violations that seem to bloom almost daily appear to follow a pattern of partisan posturing and denial, followed immediately by paralysis, and ending with little or no accountability.
Obama’s Earmark Reform? ShamWow!
On March 11, 2009 President Obama signed the fiscal year (FY) 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, which contained the nine remaining 2009 spending bills worth $410 billion. After making dizzying campaign promises to eliminate congressional earmarking once he won the Oval Office, the President, out of the sight of the media, signed a bill containing thousands earmarks and schooled taxpayers on his new and revised view of earmarks.