Congressman Tierney Introduces Legislation to Combat Contractor Waste, Fraud and Abuse
September 09, 2011
Washington DC – Today, Congressman John Tierney, Ranking Member of the National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations Oversight Subcommittee, introduced legislation to create a permanent inspector general for contingency operations. A permanent inspector general is one of fifteen key recommendations by the Commission on Wartime Contracting, which Congressman Tierney helped establish in 2008 to investigate wasteful government spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Commission's final report concludes that at least $30 billion of U.S. spending for contracts and grants in those two countries over the past decade has been wasted.
"The legislation I introduced today fills an important void in the oversight of American taxpayer dollars. We need to enhance our resources and capabilities to transcend the silos in which many agencies all too often operate. Our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan make clear that we need to have such systems in place on day one in future operations. The kind of waste we have witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be tolerated. Additionally, efforts to audit and monitor where taxpayer dollars are being spent will improve the safety of our troops and help prevent critical funds from getting into the hands of our enemies," Congressman Tierney said.
In 2005, Congressman John Tierney co-authored legislation, with then-Congressman Jim Leach (R-IA), to establish a select committee to conduct oversight on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This legislation is credited for leading the way to the Senate version of the bill and the creation of the Commission of Wartime Contracting. Congressman Tierney announced this new legislation to create a permanent inspector general for contingency operations last week.
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