McCaskill's Inspector General Bill Becomes Law Despite Objections from the President
Senator's legislation would strengthen government oversight offices
Legislation introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill to improve efficiency and accountability within the federal government became law this week, despite last minute objections from the White House. Aimed at strengthening the inspector general (IG) system, the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 will work to guarantee that qualified individuals are appointed to inspector general positions, IGs remain independent from inappropriate influence or pressure from the government agencies they oversee, and that IG reports are easily accessible to the public.
President Bush signed the legislation into law Tuesday, but included a signing statement in an attempt to undermine to two key provisions. McCaskill today urged the president to implement the law as Congress intended.
"In an age where people are frustrated with the status quo in their federal government, we needed this legislation because Americans deserve to know we are watching out for their tax dollars," McCaskill said. "This is a strong, bipartisan bill that will do a lot of good, and I'm disappointed that the president has tried to undermine this effort to strengthen oversight and accountability in the federal government."
After arriving in Washington, McCaskill decided to make her focus as a senator improving government accountability and protecting tax dollars, so it was fitting that one of the first pieces of legislation she introduced was aimed at strengthening the role of IGs who serve as taxpayer watchdogs. The new law will work to guarantee that qualified individuals are appointed to inspector general positions, IGs remain independent from inappropriate influence or pressure from the government agencies they oversee, and that IG reports are easily accessible to the public.
But President Bush included a signing statement when he signed the bill into law yesterday to water down two sections of the new law. Under the signing statement, the lawyers assigned to IGs would be required to follow the legal interpretations of the general counsels of each individual agencies, undermining the goal of providing independent counsel to all IGs. President Bush also took issue with the law's requirement that would require greater transparency in IG budgets, which was intended to prevent agencies or the White House from undercutting IG budgets.
Despite the White House's objections, the bill will still provide greater independence for the IGs from the administration and agency officials, ensure that their oversight of government agencies is transparent and available to the public, and establish a council to share best practices, enhance training, develop inter-agency information-sharing policies, and generally strengthen the IG community.
Specifically, the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 requires that:
* Congress is notified 30 days in advance of a proposed removal of an IG, along with the reasons for the removal.
* All IGs have access to independent legal counsel, avoiding potential conflicts of interest with agency counsels.
* A Council on Integrity and Efficiency for Inspectors General is established. The mission of the Council is to address integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual government agencies and to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of IG personnel by helping to establish well-trained and highly skilled IG office workforces. Within the Council, an Integrity Committee must be created to investigate allegations of wrongdoing that are made against inspectors general or certain other staff members.
* Budget requests for each IG's office must specifically identify how much money is being requested for training and how much is requested for the IG Council, helping to improve IG funding through greater visibility.
* All IG websites be directly accessible from the home page of agency web sites. All public IG reports must also be posted on agency websites within 3 working days of release.
* In the event of an IG vacancy, the Council for Integrity and Efficiency will recommend possible replacements.
* The president's budget delineate how much money is requested for each IG office, as well as the funding level the IG requested for their office, allowing Congress to identify whether agencies are interfering with the work of an IG office through funding cuts.
* All IGs be appointed without regard to political affiliation and on the basis of integrity, and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.
* IGs' pay will be adjusted to ensure their pay is comparable to other senior agency officials and they are compensated for the prohibition on bonuses.