"Truth Squad" Introduced by House Democrats to Identify Government Waste
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
In a conference call with BuzzFlash.com this morning, Reps. Henry Waxman and Dennis Cardoza announced the creation of a "Truth Squad" to expose waste, fraud, and abuse under the watch of the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush Administration. The group additionally includes Reps. David Obey, John Tanner, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and John Tierney.
The Truth Squad also released their first report today, which looks at waste and mismanagement in Hurricane Katrina contracts. The study examines 19 contracts collectively worth $8.75 billion that have been linked to major problems in administration or performance by the GAO, Pentagon auditors, agency inspectors general, or other government investigators. Disturbingly, just this month FEMA awarded new contracts totaling more than $1 billion to many of the same companies implicated in the report. (click here to read the report - pdf)
During the conference call, Waxman stressed the importance of the new Truth Squad. "I think one of the primary responsibilities of Congress is not just to legislate, but to do oversight," he said. Waxman decried the "binge of spending" by Republicans over the last few years, and how it has been plagued by waste in several instances, especially after 9/11, Iraq reconstruction, and now Katrina recovery. "You'd think they would have learned . . . (Katrina) is not a unique situation."
When asked by BuzzFlash why Waxman needed to form the Truth Squad when he is already the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Government Reform, Waxman responded that he has not received the cooperation he needs from Republicans, who control the committee. "Congress has not been diligent in pursuing these matters," he said.
Rep. Cardoza, co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 35 moderate House Democrats, also lamented the waste and suggested government officials be held accountable just as they would be in the private sector. He discussed a bill he introduced this year, H. R. 5315, which would require Senate reconfirmation for cabinet level officials whose agency cannot pass an audit and fully account for its spending within two years. Cadoza said this is currently the case for 19 of 24 government agencies.
Waxman wouldn't say what's next for the Truth Squad, but only that there are "other areas of waste, fraud, and abuse that we want to point out." Cardoza expressed hope that people would read their reports and start asking their elected officials questions.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
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