[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 109 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E603-E604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR GENERAL CAROL 
                                 OCHOA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2023

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note the announced 
retirement of Carol Ochoa from her position as Inspector General (IG) 
at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) after serving there 
for the past 8 years.
  Inspectors General in agencies across the federal government are 
independent officials charged with promoting economy and efficiency in 
government programs and combatting waste, fraud and abuse. They make 
recommendations to the heads of the agencies in which they serve but 
they also independently keep Congress directly and concurrently 
informed about major issues in government programs.
  During the 8 years of her service as the IG, Carol Ochoa has 
performed this job in a manner which sets a very fine example, not only 
for other IGs, but for all of us who devote ourselves to government 
oversight.
  The Senate confirmed Carol Ochoa as the Inspector General at GSA on 
July 29, 2015. She came to the office well-qualified. Her prior career 
experience included more than 25 years of service as a federal 
prosecutor and manager in the U.S. Department of Justice where she 
served as the Assistant Inspector General of the Oversight and Review 
Division. Prior to that she was an Assistant United States Attorney in 
the District of Columbia where she prosecuted more than 40 cases before 
federal and local juries and specialized in public corruption and fraud 
matters.
  During her roughly 8 years of service as GSA IG, she led audit and 
inspection efforts which produced nearly 600 reports to GSA, and 
ultimately to Congress. The reports provided recommendations for 
corrective actions to address serious deficiencies found in GSA 
programs. These reports also included extremely valuable contract 
audits which, over her term, identified more than $4 billion in 
potential savings in the form of questioned costs or funds that could 
be put to better use.

[[Page E604]]

  As a former federal prosecutor, she also very effectively led the law 
enforcement function of her office. Investigations conducted during her 
tenure resulted in the closure of more than 1,000 investigative cases 
leading to more than 300 successful criminal prosecutions. These crimes 
included fraud against the U.S. Government, theft of government 
property, as well as conspiracies and false statements associated with 
those crimes. Based on her office's wide-ranging investigative efforts, 
the federal government was able to obtain more than $900 million in 
civil settlements and court-imposed recoveries. That is about $113 
million in each of her eight years of leadership as the Inspector 
General. Given the fact that her office's annual budget averaged about 
$67 million over her tenure, we should all be deeply grateful for the 
high return on investment the American taxpayers received for the 
budgetary funding entrusted to this Inspector General.
  During the eight years of her service as Inspector General she came 
here to the House of Representatives and gave testimony at six 
hearings; five of which were before the Oversight committee. Twice she 
testified about GSA's mismanagement of the Army's childcare subsidy 
program and the hard-earned money of our already struggling military 
families. She also testified about GSA's mismanagement of database 
records for the federal program which donates surplus firearms to state 
and local law enforcement agencies.
  She testified before the Transportations and Infrastructure Committee 
regarding the Trump Administration's oversight of the Trump 
International Hotel Lease in which she detailed her office's important 
evaluation which found that GSA attorneys decided not to address 
emoluments issues related to the lease without documenting their 
rationale, conducting any legal research, or seeking guidance from 
appropriate experts. She told the Committee that her staff found that 
the decision to exclude the emoluments issues from GSA's consideration 
of the lease was improper because GSA, like all government agencies, 
has an obligation to uphold and enforce the Constitution--a reminder 
which merits repeating on a regular basis.
  Finally, Inspector General Ochoa and I collaborated on a blockbuster 
report on the Trump Administration's decision to abandon plans for a 
new consolidated suburban headquarters campus for the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (FBI) and instead rebuild a new headquarters on the site 
of the current J. Edgar Hoover building. That report showed that GSA 
had obscured from Congress $516 million in relevant construction costs 
associated with the Administration's new plan. The report found that 
security requirements necessary for a future headquarters had not been 
fully evaluated. It also found GSA Administrator Emily Murphy provided 
testimony to Congress that had the effect of misleading Congress about 
meetings Administrator Murphy had with the White House and which she 
chose not to divulge to Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, Carol Ochoa's exemplary leadership of the Office of the 
Inspector General at GSA over the past eight years sets an example for 
others to follow. It is my hope that she transitions into retirement 
knowing she has the deepest appreciation from the Congress for her 
outstanding service to the Nation.

                          ____________________