WASHINGTON-Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on the GAO’s High Risk List with U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. The list is released at the start of each Congress and is comprised of federal programs and agencies deemed to be vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. It provides a roadmap to the Committee in its mission to ensure government accountability.
At the hearing, Republicans voiced concerns over repeat offenders on the High Risk List and the potential need for new methods to implement meaningful reform. Republicans also raised concerns over a new addition to the list, national efforts to prevent, respond to and recover from drug abuse, given overdoses are on the rise.
Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) opened the hearing by emphasizing the Oversight Committee’s role to address the government waste, fraud, and abuse. He said, “Despite progress made in multiple High Risk areas since 2019, the news is not all good. Only one area met all five criteria for removal from this year’s High Risk List, while two new areas were added to the list. Some areas regressed while others did not improve in any of the five key criteria. There is still a significant amount of work to be done, and I’ve said many times that this Committee should be guided by its mission to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, wherever it may be found. I’m glad to see the Committee finally addressing these issues."
Subcommittee on Government Operations Ranking Member Jody Hice (R-Ga.) asked, “Isn’t it true that there are several programs that have been on the list ever since the High Risk List was implemented back in the 1990’s?" Dodaro replied saying, “Yes, there are five charter members that remain of the 14 members." Hice pushed further asking about “any type of repercussion for agencies or agency organizations that remain on the High Risk List year after year after year." Dodaro said, “nothing other than what Congress may impose on individual areas."
Hice went on to say, “Everyone works off incentive. Our free markets work off incentive. Where there are incentives to improve, people tend to improve. But if there are no incentives to do so, then people, organizations in this case-organizational groups-stay on the High Risk List year after year after year." When Hice asked Dodaro if there would be wisdom to create an incentive system, he replied in the affirmative.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) emphasized the magnitude of this list. She said, “It’s troubling to me and to the American people that we don’t put groups on the High Risk List until the exposure for loss is at least $1 billion. That’s a big number for us."
Foxx went on to ask if GAO has investigated how funding to address the opioid crisis has been spent. Foxx said, “We need to expect and demand accountability, like: Have there been fewer overdoses, are more lives being saved? I think too often we never get accountability for these funds, and the emphasis-it seems to me-should always be there. However, what we are hearing is increasing rates of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending May 2020. We have no way of knowing, as far as I know, what the impact has been on these grants and maybe what the impact has been from COVID. I think there needs to be some emphasis there too, so I hope you all will be looking at that."
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) emphasized the importance of this hearing saying, “Ensuring oversight of federal programs should be a priority mission of this committee. Transparency and supervision of these programs, while time consuming, is crucial. Over the last 15 years, oversight of the High Risk List has saved over $575 billion dollars. While large programs are created with trillion-dollar budgets, this has increased exposure-shall we say-to bad actors, government malfeasance, and unforeseen consequences. This is almost predictable when we are dealing with this much money. This is an incredibly important function, and our oversight should be 100% bipartisan."
Ranking Member Comer asked Dodaro about the opioid crisis. He asked, “Has the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in drug abuse, and that’s what contributed to the addition of a new area on the GAO list? And that area being national efforts to prevent, respond to and recover from drug abuse?" Dodaro said, “We were going to add that area before the pandemic, and we announced our intention to do that in March 2020.... But, the pandemic has complicated that issue."
Ranking Member Comer asked Dodaro’s opinion on what federal government action is necessary. Dodaro said, “I think we need to double down on our efforts. We need to have a comprehensive national strategy. We need to engage our 12 different agencies in the federal government that are considered part of this implementation effort. We need to engage the states, localities, and the private sector in this area because it effects businesses-it effects all parts of our economy. We need to really make a concerted effort over time with the proper resources and the investment in order to arrest this disturbing trend.
Comer added, “... Taking steps to reopen the economy and getting people back to work certainly would seem to help the situation as well."
