Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016
Floor Speech
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment which seeks to bolster funds for the inspector general of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak.
I am a strong proponent of government oversight, and I believe the revelatory work of the inspector general should be staunchly supported within each agency of the Federal Government.
Today, given the dismal financial record of Amtrak through its history, compounded with recent safety failures, it is clear that the scrupulous, objective oversight of the inspector general is needed for this agency now more than ever.
This amendment redirects $500,000 to the Amtrak Office of the Inspector General salaries and expenses account to bring it up to the budget request level.
Since the Inspector General Act was passed into law, the IG community has saved taxpayers billions of dollars and has uncovered countless examples of wrongdoing in the Federal Government. The inspector general community does good work. Let's give them the resources they need.
The committee has noted the good work of the Amtrak OIG in the committee report, stating: ``The OIG's efforts have resulted in valuable studies and recommendations for this committee and for the Corporation that have yielded cost savings and management improvements. These studies have been in a number of areas, including food and beverage service, capital planning, overtime, and fraud.''
I commend the committee for the work they have done to support efficient and effective government.
This amendment is directly in line with the high value the committee places on the thorough work of the OIG and will ensure additional transparency and accountability within Amtrak.
There is a wide agreement about the need to reform, streamline, and improve Amtrak. A valuable first step in that reform is supporting the objective, rigorous auditing information which the OIG is uniquely qualified to produce.
I ask my colleagues to join me in support of government accountability by giving the Amtrak OIG the resources they need to identify the waste, fraud, and abuse within a government agency that is in desperate need of reform.
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