Legislation introduced in the Senate last week by Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) would require federal agency Inspectors General to publicly post their reform recommendations online.
The Senators are touting the bill as one that would improve transparency and help eliminate waste in government.
The bill would impact 73 federal agencies where Inspectors General perform audits. According to the Senators, it would allow for better management of the IG process overall. Posting the recommendations online would give Congress, federal agencies, and the public the ability to better keep tabs on the problems that have been identified as well as keep track of whether or not those problems have been resolved.
“Federal agency Inspectors General do important work and often offer ideas to make government more effective and efficient, but these ideas do no good if they are ignored,” said Lankford. “The Inspector General Recommendation Transparency Act is important to ensure accountability and transparency for the reform proposals made by agencies’ Inspectors General. With a massive $19 trillion federal debt, the American public should be aware of all proposals to eliminate waste and reduce spending, especially from our Inspectors General.”