IG Independence and Empowerment Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I thank Chair Maloney for her wonderful leadership of the Oversight Committee.

I rise in support of H.R. 2662, the Inspector General Independence and Empowerment Act.

The inspectors general are a remarkable innovation in American Government that have saved us untold billions of dollars and checked the corrupt abuse of power by people controlling Federal departments. They are essential to our ability to legislate as the Article I branch and to do meaningful oversight over the executive branch of government.

That is true in general, but it is especially true when we have a President like Donald Trump who categorically refused to recognize congressional subpoenas, blocked members of his administration from coming to testify before Congress in an unprecedented way, and generally refused to cooperate with congressional factfinding at all.

When a President refuses to cooperate with the legislative branch, when he obstructs Congress at every turn, the IGs are our only source of information. It is imperative that we protect our inspectors general's independence and their impartiality so they will not be reduced to the level of being Presidential sycophants who are party loyalists.

The Supreme Court has recognized the importance of IG independence, noting that it is ``vital to effectuating Congress' intent and maintaining an opportunity for objective inquiries into bureaucratic waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.''

This bill will ensure that the IGs have the tools that they need to conduct thorough investigations on behalf of the American people, and it will protect them from unjust political retaliation.

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