WASHINGTON, DC - Bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today responded to a report from the Government Accountability Office, the federal government’s nonpartisan watchdog, on the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The report outlines a number of fundamental failures in the OIG and makes a number of recommendations.
“The American people rely on inspectors general to be traffic cops on the beat; rooting out mismanagement, fraud, waste, and abuse throughout their agencies. Unfortunately, this report confirms our suspicions - that the Department of Commerce’s Inspector General wasn’t up to the task," said the leaders. “We hope new leadership for the inspector general’s office will take these findings to heart and use the report to spur real improvements in performance. This is an important opportunity for this office to get a fresh start."
The report was requested by:
* Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ); and
* Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), and Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO).
