House Committee Chairs introduce bill to increase (much needed) government accountability

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Amy Weiss

Rep. Henry Waxman, Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and 18 other House committee chairs introduced a bill to better allow the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct meaningful investigations into fraudulent practices and abuse within the government.

The bill, known as the Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2008, insists the GAO have access to pertinent documents it is entitled to for conducting investigations. It also reasserts the right of the GAO to challenge any refusal of documents in court, responding to a district court decision that favored the office of Vice President Cheney in withholding energy policy planning documents from the GAO.

In a statement, Rep. Waxman said "GAO needs unfettered access to federal agencies to help Congress identify waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs. This bill says that federal agencies and the White House can't withhold records that GAO is entitled to review."

This bill comes after a series of requests (and some subpoenas) by the Oversight Committee for documents and information from President Bush about the plans for military bases in Iraq, Attorney General Mukasey for information about the Valerie Plame leak, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for documents about U.S. Embassy involvement in an illegal arms deal, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates for insight into the selection of an expensive contract for jet fuel.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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