[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12820-12822]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               RESTORING ACCOUNTABILITY TO OUR GOVERNMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) is recognized 
for half the time until midnight as the designee of the minority 
leader.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, this evening on behalf of the 37-member-
strong, fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, I rise to 
talk about restoring accountability to our Nation's government.
  As you can see here, today, the United States national debt is 
$8,347,371,018,253 and some change. If you divide that number by every 
living man, woman, and child, including the children, the babies being 
born today, every citizen of the United States' share of the national 
debt is $27,910.
  For those of you that have walked the halls of Congress, you have 
seen this poster outside each of the 37 members of the fiscally 
conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. The number changes daily. 
It is staggering. It is our way to try to hold our government 
accountable for this reckless spending and the largest debt ever in our 
Nation's history as well as the largest deficits ever in our Nation's 
history.
  Tonight, I would like to talk about accountability. Mr. Speaker, let 
me just say that under the United States Constitution, which I carry 
one with me, 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. And tonight, on behalf of the 37-member fiscally 
conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, I rise to hold this 
Republican majority, this Republican Congress, responsible for failing 
to conduct meaningful investigations of allegations of serious waste, 
fraud, abuse and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, 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. 
Every 24 hours, $279 million of your tax money is being spent in Iraq; 
and the current Federal debt is $8,347,371,018,253, much of which is 
borrowed from foreign countries. Our Nation is spending about a half 
billion dollars a day simply paying interest on the debt we have 
already got. A half billion a day.
  Many of America's priorities are going unmet because of this reckless 
spending. Just in my congressional district in Arkansas, I need $1.5 
billion to finish I-69. We could do it with 3 days' interest on the 
national debt. I need another $1.5 billion to finish Interstate 49. 
Again, we could do that with 3 days' interest on the national debt. I 
need about $100 million to complete the Hot Springs Expressway. We 
could do that with just a few hours' interest on the national debt. I 
need $200 million to finish Interstate 530. We could do that with just 
a few hours' interest on the national debt. I need about $300 million 
to four-lane U.S. Highway 167 from Little Rock to El Dorado and on past 
there connecting I-39, 40 with I-20 in Louisiana. I could do that with 
less than a day's interest on the national debt. We need to four-lane 
U.S. Highway 82. We could do that with just a few hours' interest on 
the national debt. These are just some of America's priorities that 
will continue to go unmet.
  Others are making college affordable for young people, ensuring that 
our young people get the best education possible K-12. Medicaid, 
Medicare, Social Security, so many of America's priorities are going 
unmet, are going not fully funded because of the reckless spending 
going on by this Republican Congress. These massive deficits, this 
large debt, is forcing much of your tax money to be spent, not meeting 
America's priorities and improving the quality of life for our children 
and grandchildren, but rather it is going to simply pay interest, not 
principal, just interest on the national debt.
  Now on top of that, what is happening? On top of that, our Nation is 
borrowing $1 billion a day. As I said earlier, we are sending about 
$279 million every day to Iraq. But do not ask the President to be 
accountable for it. Do not ask him for a plan on how he is spending 
that money, because he will tell you that you are unpatriotic. I 
disagree with that. I believe that this President, this Republican 
Congress must be held accountable when they spend your tax money.
  About 45 percent of the billion dollars we are borrowing every day is 
coming from foreign central banks and foreign investors, money that our 
children and grandchildren some day will be forced to pay back.
  American taxpayers simply deserve to know how their money is spent. 
They deserve answers as to why their children and grandchildren will 
have to foot the bill for this administration's fiscal mismanagement of 
the Federal budget. This includes answers as to why the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, commonly referred to as FEMA, continues to 
pay a quarter of a million dollars a month to store almost 10,000 
mobile homes. That is right, 10,000 mobile homes at the Hope Airport in 
my congressional district, while many victims of Hurricane Katrina 
remain homeless.
  There was a photo of it today in the New York Times. Literally 9,959 
was the count earlier this week of brand new, fully furnished, 16-foot-
wide, 60-foot-long mobile homes that are sitting there at the Hope 
Airport literally in a hay meadow. You can see the barbed wire fence. 
You can see the grass where they are just sitting. FEMA's only response 
has been to spend as much as $4 to $6 million laying gravel on this hay 
meadow to prevent these brand new, fully furnished mobile homes from 
sinking.
  FEMA's response should have been to get these mobile homes to the 
people who lost their homes and everything they own as a result of the 
devastating storms Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. It is past 
time for FEMA to be held accountable and provide these new, fully 
furnished mobile homes to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  This is an aerial view, an aerial view of some of the 9,959 mobile 
homes that are sitting parked, never been used by the storm victims, 
sitting parked, purchased by our government through FEMA. These were 
decisions made at the highest levels of FEMA, and here they are 
sitting, sitting at the airport in Hope, Arkansas.
  Now FEMA is beginning to bring back travel trailers that have already 
been used by storm victims where they will either be refurbished for 
future storms or auctioned off to the highest bidder.

                              {time}  2330

  This is not to be confused with these brand new, fully-furnished 
mobile homes that were never used by storm victims, purchased with your 
tax money by FEMA. Again, it is past time for FEMA to be held 
accountable and provide these new, fully-furnished mobile homes to the 
victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  No business in our country could succeed financially if it failed to 
fully report back to its shareholders on how it

[[Page 12821]]

is spending its money. However, that is exactly how our Federal 
Government is operating.
  The administration is not telling its shareholders, the American 
taxpayers, how it spends the money coming into Washington. But we can 
see how it is being spent: 9,959 brand new, fully-furnished 16-foot 
wide, 60-foot long mobile homes intended for storm victims from 
Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita sitting, unused, never used, at 
the airport in Hope, Arkansas, and FEMA's only response is, oh, 
goodness, we don't want them to sink in that hay meadow, so we will 
spend $4 million to $6 million dollars putting gravel on the hay 
meadow.
  In 2004, $25 billion of Federal Government spending went absolutely 
unaccounted for, according to the Treasury Department. The Bush 
administration 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 admission.
  The next year, the Government Accounting 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 Congress.
  That is worth repeating. The Government Accounting Office in 2005 
reported that 19, 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 Congress. Yet 
Republican leaders in this Congress did not force these agencies to 
fully account for how the money was being spent before doling out 
billions more of your tax money for the same programs.
  Clearly Congress has failed to ask serious questions about the Bush 
administration's fiscal irresponsibility and record high deficits four 
years in a row, which have now pushed the Federal debt to a staggering 
$8,347,371,018,253.
  The time has come to hold this administration accountable for its 
reckless behavior. I believe Congress must act now to renew its 
Constitutional responsibility. It is right here in the Constitution of 
the United States of America, to serve as a check and balance for 
overspending, waste, fraud and financial abuse within the Executive 
Branch.
  That is why Members of the 37 member strong, fiscally conservative 
Democratic Blue Dog Coalition and I are cosponsoring legislation that 
would require Congress to renew its duty to conduct hearings on 
spending and hold administration officials accountable for waste, fraud 
and abuse within their agencies.
  Mr. Speaker, if you have questions or comments or concerns about the 
program that I am outlining tonight, I would encourage you to e-mail 
us, Mr. Speaker, at B[email protected]. That is 
B[email protected].
  The legislation I am referring to is House Resolution 841, introduced 
by one of the founding members of the fiscally conservative, Democratic 
Blue Dog Coalition, Mr. John Tanner of Tennessee.
  Our legislation does this: Number one, Congressional hearings. It 
would require Congressional hearings within 60 days of a Federal Office 
of Inspector General report documenting fraud, waste, abuse or 
mismanagement in the government that results in a cost to the 
government of at least $1 million. Increased Congressional involvement 
in Inspector General reports would improve agency performance and save 
taxpayer funds.
  This legislation, House Resolution 841, requires Congressional 
hearings when a Government Accounting Office report names an agency 
high risk for mismanagement. GAO's ``high risk'' series is an effort to 
assist Congress in dealing with one of its important obligations, to 
exercise accountability for taxpayer funds.
  In 2003, the GAO identified 26 high risk areas for the Federal 
Government. Since then, only three programs have been removed from the 
list and four more have been added. Clearly it is necessary that 
Congress become involved to curb mismanagement in Federal agencies.
  It also requires the House Committee on Government Reform to hold 
hearings to question heads of departments or agencies whenever their 
auditors issue disclaimers or restatements of financial statements 
indicating accounting information is inaccurate or incomplete.
  It requires Congress to hold hearings at least twice a year to review 
the Office of Management and Budget's performance-based review program 
called Program Assessment Rating Tool, or PART. The PART was developed 
by the Office of Management and Budget to assist and improve program 
performance so that the Federal Government can achieve better results.
  A PART review helps identify a program's strengths and weaknesses in 
order to make the program more effective. However, despite several GAO 
recommendations that the Office of Management and Budget share their 
evaluation plans with Congress to ensure that their findings will be 
timely, relevant and credible, coordination with Congress is still 
lacking.
  The second bill that I would like to refer to that we have introduced 
as members of the Blue Dog Coalition that I am proud to cosponsor is 
H.R. 5315, the Accountability in Government Act of 2006. The lead 
sponsor on that is representative Dennis Cardoza of California, one of 
the co-chairs of the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog 
Coalition.
  Here is what that bill would could. It would require each Federal 
agency produce an audit within 2 years that complies with the standards 
established in the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 
1996. It would require the Senate to hold reconfirmation hearings on 
any cabinet level official whose agency cannot fully account for how it 
is spending your tax money within 2 years.
  I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 5542, which amends the Federal criminal 
code to impose on a public official who engages in conduct in 
furtherance of a Federal felony a fine and a 2-year prison term in 
addition to any penalties imposed for such felony. Those who write the 
laws, Members of this body, Members of this Congress, must be held not 
to a lesser standard than everybody else in America, but to a higher 
standard. That is what this bill would do.
  It defines ``public official'' as an elected official of the United 
States or of a State or local government, a presidentially-appointed 
official or an official appointed to a State or local government office 
by an elected official of a State or local government. It says that if 
you are an elected official who has been placed in the public trust and 
if you break the very laws that you helped write, you should have a 
stiffer fine and additional 2 years of prison time tacked on to the 
term that any other citizen in this country would get. It is time to 
hold our elected officials to a higher standard. When they break the 
law, they should be punished to a greater degree than everyone else.
  Wasteful government spending has forced the national debt to its 
current record level, and future generations will have to pay that 
bill. Future generations will have to pay back with interest the money 
the Federal Government is borrowing from other countries due to this 
administration's fiscal recklessness.
  The time has come to restore common sense and fiscal discipline to 
our Nation's government. The legislation that I am talking about this 
evening will put our Nation back on the track toward balancing the 
budget and restoring accountability within our government.
  That is what the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog 
Coalition, 37 members strong, is all about, trying to restore some 
common sense and fiscal discipline and accountability to our Nation's 
government and requiring that elected officials be held to an even 
higher standard than everyone else. If elected officials break the law, 
they should be punished to a greater degree than everyone else, for 
they have been placed in the public trust, and when they violate that 
trust, they should be punished and they should be punished extensively.

[[Page 12822]]

  Mr. Speaker, if you have questions about our program, I would 
encourage you to e-mail us at B[email protected].
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, again, as of this evening, the national debt is 
a staggering $8,347,371,018,253.

                          ____________________