Kendra S. Horn: “I am rising to recognize a very important asset we have in the war that we have waged consistently against waste, fraud…”

“I am rising to recognize a very important asset we have in the war that we have waged consistently against waste, fraud and abuse within the Federal Government. Madam Speaker, 20 years ago this month, in an effort to more effectively combat waste and mismanagement in Federal programs, on a bipartisan basis the predecessor of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight--then known as the Committee on Government Operations-- worked to establish inspectors general in our largest executive agencies. Later, the Inspector General Act of 1978 was expanded so that today we have inspectors general in 27 major agencies and in 30 of our smaller Federal agencies. Not only my committee, the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology, but the entire Congress, has come to rely heavily on the critical work of the inspectors general. Their audits and their inspections help root out serious problems in various Federal programs and bring them into the light of day so both the administration and Congress can deal with it.”