Good news: Federal agencies to be held more accountable
Good news: Federal agencies to be held more accountable Monday, October 20th, 2008 The Improving Government Accountability Act, signed last week by President Bush, contains more good news for your right to know. An amendment attached to the bill, HR 928, sponsored by our own Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand requires that inspectors general of federal agencies post all reports or audits on the Inspector General's Web sites for the various federal agencies. The reports, then, will be available to members of the press and public so they can learn more about waste, fraud and abuse being reported in the agencies. Inspectors general are assigned to each federal agency, and their job is to direct audits and investigations into their respective agencies' operations in order to promote efficiency and detect mismanagement, fraud, abuse and waste of programs and operations. The inspectors general also make recommendations for improvements and corrective actions. To find an inspector general's office, just Google "inspector general" and the name of the agency you're seeking information about. For instance, if you're interested in the inspector general reports on the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, Google "inspector general Veterans Affairs" and the site will come up. There's already a wealth of information on some sites, including reports and investigations dating back several years, as well as press releases, presentations to Congress and information on how to file Freedom of Information Act requests for information. Last year, according to Gillibrand's office, the federal government's 58 inspector generals saved taxpayers $9.9 billion through audit recommendations and recovered another $6.8 billion from investigations. It's important to the promotion of open government that the audits and reports be posted online for citizens to review with their own eyes. This is a good amendment to a good bill that helps make the federal government more transparent. – Mark Mahoney Pasted from <http://www.poststar.com/blogs/?cat=50>
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