POGO Supports IG Recommendation Transparency Act

July 11, 2017

Senator Heidi Heitkamp

516 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington DC, 20510

Dear Senator Heitkamp:

The Project On Government Oversight is proud to support your “Inspector General Recommendation Transparency Act of 2017.” Founded in 1981, POGO is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.

Recognizing the vital role that IGs play, POGO has worked for years to study and improve the IG system. Your bill will ensure that Congress can more easily determine when agencies are not implementing the IG’s recommendations by requiring all IGs report to Congress all recommendations that remain open and unresolved for over a year.

All IGs operating under the Inspector General Act are required to provide Congress with semiannual reports that include the number of recommendations that have been open for six months or longer, among other statistics. However, by issuing a separate report on unimplemented recommendations, these IGs can draw specific attention to the problem and help ensure that important details are not buried in the semiannual updates.

Congress and the public deserve to know how often agencies actually implement IG recommendations and save taxpayer dollars, in order to hold both agencies and IGs accountable.

POGO is pleased to support your bill, and we will urge others to do the same.

Sincerely,

Danielle Brian

Executive Director