Truman: Still Bringing Independence and Accountability to the Senate

Statement

"We intend to see that no man or corporate group of men shall profit inordinately on the blood of the boys in the foxhole."

Harry S. Truman spoke those words as a freshman Senator during World War II. Knowing there was waste occurring in the production of military equipment, Truman established a committee to investigate the administration led by a President of his own party. The Truman Committee portrayed true independence and saved an estimated $15 billion for taxpayers in the 1940's.

Today, the U.S. is spending $9 billion per month in Iraq. That's enough to give 7.4 million American children health insurance. And it's estimated that as much as $100 billion has been lost due to waste, fraud and abuse.

If Harry S. Truman were alive today he would be astounded at the waste and fraud. However, this week the Senate passed the Defense Authorization bill that included something that, I believe, would have made him proud - a modern-day Truman committee.

I campaigned on the promise that, if elected, I would work to establish a new Truman Committee. I'll be the first to admit that amending the bill that authorizes spending for the entire Department of Defense was not exactly a walk in the park. Fortunately, I had help.

I came to Washington to stand up for change and accountability. So did eight other freshmen Senators. Together, we worked for months to prove to our colleagues in the Senate that the federal government needed to change the way it ran the business side of war.

Recently, as the Defense Authorization bill began to heat up, so did the partisan politics surrounding our legislation. It was hard enough just to get a vote, considering we were competing with 400 other amendments, many of which would not even be considered because of time limitations. But convincing Republican leaders that our amendment was about true bipartisan accountability, and not about politics, was even harder.

The politics in Washington is thick and at times seems impossible to wade through. The two parties have been trying to make each other look bad for so long that they no longer recognize words like trust and respect. But if Harry Truman could take on the President of his own party in the name of accountability during World War II, then surely we could prove to our colleagues that it was time to put partisan politics aside.

I was proud to take to the Senate floor to participate in debates with some of the most senior Senators from both sides of the aisle, including the Democratic Chairman and former Republican Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. It was the kind of debate that our democracy thrives on.

Late into the night when our amendment was finally brought up, miracle of all miracles, it passed without a single "no" vote. As I said on the floor of the United States Senate that night, "Harry Truman would be proud."

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