Charles E. Grassley: “last week I came to the floor of the Senate and made some very critical remarks about Comptroller General Bowsher's…”

“last week I came to the floor of the Senate and made some very critical remarks about Comptroller General Bowsher's recent decision to reopen the M accounts at the Department of Defense or DOD. Congress passed a law in 1990 that phased out those accounts by September 30, 1993. Now, Mr. Bowsher wants to reopen the doors to the magic vault or M accounts by just a crack, he promises, to correct $130 million clerical errors. I fear that Mr. Bowsher, the national money copy, has given DOD the green light to proceed further down the road to fiscal mismanagement. I fear Mr. Bowsher's decision will help to undermine discipline and integrity of financial management within the Government. This is strong medicine, I know, but the facts tell me the criticism is deserved. Over the years, I have been very complimentary of Mr. Bowsher's work. He has cooperated with me on a number of important projects. He has helped Congress exercise oversight. He has been a faithful watchdog at the entrance to the U.S. Treasury. But in this particular case, I have to disagree with him. He made a bad decision.”