Heitkamp & Ernst's Bipartisan Bill to Improve Government Efficiency & Accountability Passes in the Senate

Press Release

U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joni Ernst today announced that their bipartisan bill to help ensure that federal agencies are acting on recommendations made by inspectors general (IGs) that save taxpayers money and make government more efficient passed out of the U.S. Senate.

Heitkamp and Ernst's legislation would require all open recommendations from IGs at federal agencies that have remained unimplemented for more than a year to be posted to a single, searchable website. Congress and the public could then better monitor the problems that have been identified at the federal agencies where IGs conduct audits to combat waste, fraud, and abuse-- and identify whether adequate steps have been taken to resolve those problems.

Heitkamp's interest in improving agency response to IG recommendations was spurred by several hearings and briefings that she participated in as a leader of the Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Subcommittee (RAFM) within the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC), as well as incidents such as the 2015 data breach of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In that case, a 2016 Congressional report found that the OPM data breach-- in which millions of Americans' personal information was compromised-- could have potentially been prevented had the agency implemented basic security controls and heeded repeated warnings from its Inspector General about the agency's major cybersecurity deficiencies.

"Good government in a democracy means being open, transparent, and accountable to the public-- and each year, inspectors general work hard to review federal programs and report on ways to cut unnecessary spending, improve security, and maintain ethical standards. While inspectors general find billions in potential taxpayer savings each year, the general public may have a tough time tracking down whether an agency has made a good-faith effort to resolve issues identified by inspectors general," said Heitkamp. "Our bipartisan bill passing in the Senate marks an important step in holding agencies accountable and pressuring them to address fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government."

Heitkamp introduced this legislation in November following the October launch of Oversight.gov-- a federal website that hosts thousands of IG reports. The launch responded to Heitkamp's repeated calls for greater transparency and accountability across federal agencies -- including in bipartisan legislation she introduced last year that would have required IGs to post unimplemented recommendations on their websites.

"Our Inspectors General provide critical oversight of our federal agencies, and the government should be held accountable for enacting their recommendations to safeguard against fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars," said Ernst. "I am thrilled to see Senator Heitkamp's and my bipartisan legislation pass the Senate to make recommendations made by the Inspectors General more accessible and transparent for all Americans."

The legislation was also cosponsored by U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK).

IGs serve as federal watchdogs within government agencies that investigate and provide recommendations on how agencies can improve operations and address fraud, waste, and abuse. IGs cover a wide variety of issues ranging from cybersecurity issues and grant administration to federal hiring practices and human management practices. In 2017, for the third consecutive year, the IGs identified in their recommendations over $20 billion in potential taxpayer savings.

As a leader of the RAFM Subcommittee within HSGAC, Heitkamp helped lead a subcommittee hearing on how federal departments and agencies implement recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the offices of inspectors general. At the hearing, U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified that for every dollar invested in IGs, there is the potential for $18 in savings for taxpayers, and Heitkamp expressed concern about the need for more transparency and visibility in agencies' efforts to resolve issues of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement as identified by IGs.

Before the launch of this legislation, Heitkamp met with Horowitz to discuss ways to improve Congressional oversight of his agency's recommendations. During the meeting, Heitkamp reinforced how improving the way open recommendations are posted online could motivate federal agencies to fulfill the recommendations, and help keep Congress better informed about ways to improve operations at federal agencies.

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