[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 11975-11976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2300
                        RESTORING ACCOUNTABILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Marchant). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 37-Member strong, fiscally 
conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, I rise this evening to 
talk about a very important principle, and that is restoring 
accountability within our government.
  Under the United States Constitution, Congress has an obligation to 
provide congressional oversight of the executive branch. Congressional 
oversight prevents waste and fraud, ensures executive compliance with 
the law, and evaluates executive performance. However, under the 
current leadership, Congress has abandoned this responsibility by 
failing to conduct meaningful investigations of allegations of serious 
waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.
  By failing to serve as a check and balance for overspending, waste, 
fraud and financial abuse within the executive branch, this Republican-
led Congress has failed the American taxpayer.
  This President, this administration, and this Republican-led Congress 
must be held accountable for our massive Federal debt. American 
taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent.
  In 2004, $25 billion of Federal Government spending went absolutely 
unaccounted for, according to the Treasury Department. The Bush 
administration

[[Page 11976]]

was unable to determine where the money had gone, how it was spent, or 
what the American people got for their tax money. Even worse, the 
Republican-controlled Congress failed to hold the executive branch 
accountable for this omission.
  Then, in 2005, the Government Accountability Office reported that 19 
of 24 Federal agencies were not in compliance with all Federal 
accounting audit standards and could not fully explain how they had 
spent taxpayer money appropriated by this Republican-led Congress. Yet, 
Republican leaders in Congress did not force these agencies to fully 
account for how the money was being spent before doling out billions 
more of taxpayer dollars to the same programs.
  FEMA continues to store over 9,000 mobile homes, as you can see here, 
in a pasture in Hope, Arkansas, while victims of Hurricane Katrina 
remain homeless. FEMA's response has been, well, we will make sure the 
manufactured homes do not sink; we will spend $4 million laying gravel 
in this pasture. It is time FEMA was held accountable. It is time FEMA 
got these brand new, fully furnished, 14-foot-wide, 60-foot-long mobile 
homes to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  American taxpayers deserve answers as to why their children and 
grandchildren have to foot the bill for the fiscal mismanagement of 
this administration. The time has come that this administration is held 
accountable for its reckless behavior. Congress must act now to renew 
its constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance for 
overspending, waste, fraud and financial abuse within the executive 
branch.
  That is why the Blue Dog Coalition is sponsoring legislation that 
would require Congress to renew its duty to conduct hearings on 
spending and hold the administration officials accountable.
  One of the founders of the Blue Dog Coalition, Mr. Tanner of 
Tennessee, has introduced H. Res. 841. Among other things, it would 
require congressional hearings within 60 days of Inspector General 
reports that identify waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement of more than 
$1 million.
  It would require congressional hearings when the Government 
Accountability Office names an agency ``high risk'' for mismanagement.
  It would require congressional hearings when an agency's auditors 
issue disclaimers or corrections, indicating accounting information is 
inaccurate or incomplete.
  It would require congressional hearings at least twice a year to 
review the Office of Management and Budget's performance-based review 
program.
  Mr. Speaker, wasteful government spending must stop, and that is why 
it is time to restore some commonsense and fiscal discipline to our 
Nation's government. It is time to restore accountability to our 
Nation's government.

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