(Washington, D.C.) - Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, applauded President Obama for signing an Executive Order to launch the Campaign to Cut Waste, which will protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse by capitalizing on the success of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.
“There is no doubt that the President’s action will increase transparency and accountability in government," said Cummings. “Democrats in Congress created the Board as part of the Recovery Act to put in place some of the strongest transparency and accountability measures ever enacted, and the ability to track federal spending has improved by leaps and bounds as a result."
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Feb. 17, 2009. In addition to promoting job creation, economic activity, and long-term growth, the Recovery Act fostered unprecedented accountability and transparency in government spending by creating the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.
Led by Chairman Earl Devaney, the Board has succeeded in bringing transparency to Recovery Act spending. Today more than 80% of Recovery Act funds have been awarded, and less than half of one percent have open investigations.
Ranking Member Cummings has been a strong advocate for government transparency and openness. On March 16, 2011, Cummings introduced H.R. 1144, The Transparency and Openness in Government Act, which included five component pieces of legislation that passed the House overwhelmingly last Congress. Unfortunately, Committee Chairman Darrell Issa has blocked consideration of the measure.
On May 31, 2011, Cummings proposed that he and Issa work together on new legislation to enhance federal financial standards. To date, however, the Committee has not held a single business meeting or mark-up to consider any open government legislation.
