DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “I appreciate Mr. Ross yielding me this time. I want to start this evening by thanking Mr. Tanner. In the 4 years I have…”

“I appreciate Mr. Ross yielding me this time. I want to start this evening by thanking Mr. Tanner. In the 4 years I have been in Congress, he has been one of the true leaders of the Blue Dogs. I think of him as the conscience of the Congress these days with regard to the issues of fiscal responsibility and accountability and making sure that our government does the right thing. Mr. Ross, I want to thank you. I have traveled to your district. I know how much your constituents respect you on this matter and others, but it is really so important for the American people to understand the magnitude of the challenge that we are facing with regard to the national debt, and your leadership each and every week here on the floor means so much not just to me and the Blue Dogs but to the entire country. I want to talk about my recent work with my colleagues on a task force on waste, fraud and abuse. My distinguished colleagues, Mr. Waxman from California, Mr. Tierney from Massachusetts, and Mr. Tanner who you just heard, serve as Members of what we call the Truth Squad, which is charged with holding the Bush administration accountable for the mishandling of taxpayer dollars. That is something that this Republican Congress has simply failed to do. The Blue Dogs are committed to ensuring that this government account for its stewardship of taxpayer dollars. You heard Mr. Tanner: currently, 19 of 24 Federal agencies can't pass a simple, clean audit.…”