By U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud(D-Maine)
Since being elected to Congress I have been a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which is a group of Members of Congress who share a commitment to fiscal responsibility. During these tough economic times, it is now more important than ever that the federal government spend tax dollars wisely. At the same time, we must make sure that the taxpayers’ investment is paying off. Most economists agree that we must act swiftly to address our severe economic downturn and that it will require significant government spending. But it is important to remember that Congress has a finite amount of time during which we can ensure these funds are put to their intended use with maximum economic impact. Without a comprehensive tracking program in place as part of the economic recovery package and prior to disbursement of funds, stimulus dollars will not be tracked in detail. This will make it difficult to ensure a responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
This week I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader Boehner, House Appropriations Chairman Obey and Ranking Member Lewis requesting strong reporting and tracking requirements for all federal funding in any future economic stimulus package. It is critical that Congress improve transparency and accountability in all federal spending. With potentially hundreds of billions of dollars on the line in an economic recovery package, the American taxpayer deserves nothing less.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently recommended that a systematic fund-tracking system be established for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout because of how poorly the money is being spent and tracked. I voted against the bailout because it did not contain the necessary safeguards to ensure that taxpayers were repaid or that the funding was being spent in the best possible way. With an equally massive package, like the economic stimulus efforts that are currently being discussed, it is extremely important that we get this right. Technologies currently exist to track disbursements and measure the impacts of economic stimulus funds, so there is no excuse for our federal government not to do this.
Congress has a constitutional responsibility to oversee federal spending. Unfortunately that responsibility has been abandoned now for years. This new Congress must help ensure that Americans have confidence in how federal agencies are spending their tax dollars. To that end, I joined with my fellow Blue Dog Coalition members this week to help successfully pass a resolution that will lead to a reduction of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in overall federal spending.
Passage of this resolution changed the rules of the House of Representatives to force stronger congressional oversight of federal agencies. It requires that congressional committees hold at least three hearings a year on the topics of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in the agencies under their jurisdiction. Under the resolution, additional hearings are required if GAO audits find that an agency’s books are not in order or if an agency is listed as “high risk” for waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement.
With the federal budget deficit setting records, this change is a strong step in the right direction.
I remain hopeful that the final economic recovery package will include mechanisms to accurately track spending and ensure that taxpayers are protected. At the very least, with the change in the House of Representatives this week, congressional committees will now be forced to act on any abuse or mismanagement of the funds.
