POGO Letter in Support of McCaskill Amendment to Improve Coordination Between Financial Agency Inspectors General

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government. To that end, we are writing in support of an amendment introduced by Senator Claire McCaskill and co-sponsored by Senator Charles Grassley that will enhance the Restoring American Financial Stability Act (S. 3217) by improving coordination between financial agency Inspectors General (IGs).

Especially in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, the work of IGs is absolutely essential to ensuring that our financial regulatory agencies work in the public’s best interest. Senator McCaskill’s amendment will empower the financial agency IGs by connecting them through a new Council of Inspectors General on Financial Oversight (CIGFO).

The CIGFO will be required to meet at least once every quarter to share information and discuss the ongoing work of each IG. It will submit an annual report to Congress and the new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) with concerns and recommendations for improving financial oversight. And under the provisions in the amendment, there is a requirement for the FSOC to respond, in writing, to the CIGFO report. These measures will provide an independent assessment of what issues need to be addressed to strengthen financial oversight on a regular basis.

The CIGFO will be composed of IGs from the Department of the Treasury, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Housing and Urban Development, and Special Inspector General for TARP.

We strongly urge you to support the McCaskill amendment in order to improve coordination between the financial agency IGs. Thank you in advance for your leadership on this important matter. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact me at (202) 347-1122.

Sincerely,

Danielle Brian

Executive Director