New BPC Task Force Explores Why IGs Matter When it Comes to Congressional Oversight
Washington, D.C.– The Bipartisan Policy Center formally launched on Friday a new project to examine how Congress relies on agency and department inspectors general (IGs) in its oversight agenda. IGs, independent watchdogs housed within the agencies, serve as critical tools in oversight of executive branch programs and operations, and help Congress identify waste, fraud, and abuse.
“Trust in our government is at record lows. Effective congressional oversight leads to more transparent and accountable government, and can help rebuild the public’s trust in the way government operates,” said Dan G. Blair, a former Office of Personnel and Management deputy director and head of the Postal Regulatory Commission, now a BPC senior counselor and fellow leading the task force effort. “Making government work better is a shared goal of the administration and Congress, and IGs are an important part of this equation.”
To conduct this project, BPC assembled a high-level task force including former members of Congress, executive branch officials, IGs, and senior congressional committee staff who have been active in the oversight process. The task force will conduct meetings over the next six months and hear from experts on best practices in the IG community. The task force will identify strategies and recommendations to help improve how IGs can better assist Congress in its oversight duties and issue recommendations in a written report to be issued in the summer of 2018.
Members of the task force are:
- Dan Glickman, former U.S. representative and secretary of agriculture
- John McHugh, former U.S. representative and secretary of the Army
- Ed DeSeve, former special assistant to President Obama for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) deputy director
- Arnie Fields, former Marine Corps general and special inspector general for the Afghanistan reconstruction
- Jim Huse, former Social Security Administration inspector general
- Robert Shea, former House and Senate oversight counsel and OMB chief of staff
- Bettilou Taylor, former House and Senate appropriations clerk
- David Williams, former U.S. Postal Service inspector general
- Denise Wilson, former House Oversight Committee senior staff and special assistant to President Obama