in their lives, about how important they'd had become to one another are extraordinary. >> it may be the most exclusive club in the world. co-authors michael duffy and nancy gibbs on the private and public relationships of the american presidents from truman and hoofer to george h.w. bush and bill clinton. sunday at 8:00 on c-span's "q&a." house republicans today urged president obama to fill inspector general vacancies at 10 federal agencies as quickly as possible. that oversight hearing is next on c-span3. then we'll hear from richard mourdock. he defeated dick lugar in tuesday's primary. later, karl rove and joe trippi talk about election strategy. after that, paul volcker testifies about federal financial regulations. >> on "washington journal" tomorrow morning, we'll focus on the institute of medicine's report on the obesity rate.

we'll be joined by the institute's food and nutrition chairman, former agriculture secretary dan glickman. libertarian presidential candidate gary johnson, the former governor of new mexico will take your calls about the campaign. and we'll examine the foreign-born population in the u.s. with elizabeth grieco from the census bureau and audrey singer from the brookings institution. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. next, a house panel examines inspector general vacancies at federal agencies. right now there are ten inspector general vacancies, seven of them have been vacant for over a year. california congressman darrell issa chairs this house oversight committee chairman which is about two hours. >> hearing will come to order.

before we begin, this is an unusual hearing. and i hope you'll all agree that this is a hearing in which we're not talking about any particular problem that's occurred in the recent or not recent past. we're talking about an ongoing question of the independence, the value of inspector generals and where this committee should go in strengthening the 12,000 men and women -- $2 billion budget that ultimately protects the taxpayers. so, with that i'm going to make a special request. recognizing that votes will interrupt this hearing and make it probably impossible for us to get through two panels. i'm going to make a request that we be able to consolidate under one panel. in order to do that i'm going to ask unanimous consent here on the dias that all members agree not to get into areas that would create an inherent conflict between a transparency or

sunlight individual, such as pogo, and the office of management and budget. do i hear any objections? hearing none, could we please consolidate this so we can get through one panel. if anyone objects to questioning as somehow creating a conflict, i will rule on it, but my intention is that i believe every one of the panel and everyone on both sides today wants this hearing to accomplish the same fact finding. so if the staff would get that done while we do the opening statement. the oversight committee exists to secure two fundamental principles. first, americans have a right to know the money washington takes from them is well spent. and second, americans deserve an efficient, effective government that works for them. our duty on the oversight and government reform committee is to protect these rights. our solemn responsibility is

to hold government accountable to taxpayers because taxpayers have a right to know what they get from their government. we will work tirelessly in partnership with citizen watchdogs to deliver the facts to the american people and bring genuine reform to the federal bureaucracy. this is our mission. in 1978, the position of inspector general was established to promote efficiency and ensure that a threshold of accountability was integrated governmentwide. i myself saw the inspector generals far before that when in the military where their role for generations was critical. commanders do the best they can, but commanders need watchdogs at all levels, independent watchdogs. the igs are america's front line of oversight in the executive branch.

fiscal year 2009 alone their audits and investigations identified over $43 billion in potential savings, having a robust group of permanent inspector generals at the federal agencies is the best way to protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse. the obama administration has often proclaimed its commitment to transparency and accountability. that's why it's so troubling, and i remember that his predecessor had similar situations, and i want to note that, that the president has allowed vacancies at several ig offices to linger for months and in some cases years. even more disturbing is the administration's willingness to demonstrate a pattern of, at times, of hostility toward some members of the inspector general community. that is not to say that that has not happened with past administrations. one of the president's first

actions on the ig front was to remove ig gerald waltman from his post at the corporation for national and community service. we, on this side of the aisle, objected to it and continue to feel that this was inappropriate. however, that is not the issue for today. the issue for today is, in fact, how do we find something regardless of who's in the white house that satisfies, first, the american people's right to know and right to be protected from waste. second, strengthens the relationship between this committee and our counterparts in the senate in being able to count on the inspector generals as our conduit into the executive branch. we can all have discussions about this administration, and we have had plenty and will have more. but i think when we look at exposing taxpayer loss and waste, we cannot look at any one administration. we have often on a bipartisan basis lauded the success of

tracking the stimulus fund spending. doesn't mean we agree to the stimulus bill itself, but it means that, in fact, we saw inspector general given a new job as chairman of that and we saw his years of experience help him help us understand what we would do next to improve transparency in the federal government. today, four ig positions have been vacant more than 1,000 days. five ig vacancies are at cabinet departments. one of our points will in fact be to deal with such situations as usaid's vacancy at a time in which afghanistan and iraq are not yet settled questions and the variability of that entity to deliver its historic support rather than direct funding to indigenous nationals without aig or usaid direct oversight concerns us and would concern us even more if we cannot have an

inspector general there. so, in closing, i think it's extremely important not to allow today's hearing in any way to reflect on the current executive branch individuals including president obama and vice president biden. in fact, we need to look beyond that. we need look to the question of do we need to change the law for future presidents that would ensure prompt filling of vacancies in the absence of presidential action. could sigi or other entities have the right to temporarily fill those. there is a dismissal, and i must admit, i was tardy because i was deal with a potential false dismissal of an inspector general today. the fact is, if that occurs, what is our ability to ensure that the acting inspector

general in that entity or agency is in fact independent and that that dismissal is reviewed or any other action reviewed in a way that prevents any loss of the independence, no matter what the allegation is. as we all know, it is clear that inspector generals wear two hats. one of them is for the agency or the cabinet position they work for. they may or may not be presidentially appointed. they may or may not be confirmed in the same way. that may be something that needs to be changed. but today we will primarily be dealing with and asking the question of, how can we get greater independence and, for this committee, more consistent transparency with -- to this committee and to the public. with that i recognize the opening -- the ranking member for his opening statement. >> a point of clarification.

the omb, i understand, has a policy of -- >> i recognize the omb has chosen not to be on this panel. we'll remove the name. it may very well mean that he'll be called back. >> that will be fine. first of all, it's not that they are unwilling, just that it's sets another precedent and they'll testify at any time. they are glad to come back. >> no. it was an asked for and i had hoped that they would view this as a time in which it would not be a problem. as you know, administration selectively decides at times that they will sit with nonadministration and selectively decides they won't. ultimately we'll respect their decision. we'll get through the first panel if there's time based on some change, but i suspect strongly there won't be and we'll have to reschedule. >> thank you. i appreciate that. inspectors general are critical to ensuring that our government works effectively and efficiently on behalf of the american taxpayers.

although our committee plays a prominent and often public role in conducting government oversight, we rely heavily on igs to conduct audits, inspections, investigations on a daily basis at federal anxieties. agencies. our committee plays a unique role in overseeing igs and ensuring that they have the tools to do their jobs. in 2007, one of the most respected members of our committee, jim cooper, introduced hr 928, the improving government accountability act to enhance ig independence and efficiency. under the then-chairman henry waxman the committee approved this legislation by a voice vote. the house and senate then adopted it, and the bill was signed into law by president bush in 2008. in my opinion, this is how we should approach today's hearing. by working together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that oversight is rigorous and

constructive. today we'll discuss ig vacancies at federal agencies. right now seven positions are vacant that require presidential nominations and senate confirmations. although the president has nominated several candidates who are waiting -- awaiting senate confirmation, he has yet to nominate others. in addition, an existing vacancy at the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction requires a presidential nomination but not a senate confirmation. we all agree that we should have highly qualified, dedicated professionals in place at every ig office across the federal government. personally i am most concerned that the administration has not nominated anyone to serve the state department ig. the last senate-confirmed state department ig was howard krumgard and he resigned after an investigation by this committee into his conflicts of interest and his failure to conduct sufficient oversight of agency operations.

that position deserves to be filled as soon as possible. to be fair, the number of current vacancies is not necessarily unusual. in fact, in the fourth year of george w. bush's presidency, there were also seven vacancies for senate-confirmed igs, including at the state department, department of treasury, and the general services administration and the department of health and human services. and this does not include clark kent irvin's recess appointment to serve as ig of the department of homeland security, which was never confirmed by the senate. the fact that president bush had as many ig vacancies in 2004 as president obama does today does not mean we should ignore the current vacancies. similarly, we should not single out the current administration for purely partisan reasons. as parture our review today, we also acknowledge the role played by the senate in these vacancies. for example, president obama nominated michael horowitz to be the ig of the department of

justice on july 29, 2011. until 2009, mr. horowitz had served as the presidentially appointed senate-confirmed commissioner on the united states sentencing commission, yet even though the senate had confirmed him previously, his nomination was held up for eight months. when the senate finally did vote, they confirmed his nomination by a voice vote. similarly brian miller, the current ig at gsa, who will be testifying here today, had to wait nine months before the senate finally confirmed his nomination by president bush in 2005. the ig vetting process is very extensive and challenging. it becomes even more difficult to identify qualified candidates who are willing to serve when they are blocked by anonymous holes and under delays in -- undue delays in the senate. finally, i would be remiss if i did not recognize the hard work of those who serve in ig offices. this includes not only the

thousands of staff who dedicate their professional careers to these tasks, but also those who serve as acting igs while others await senate confirmation. in fact, just yesterday, our committee heard testimony from the very capable acting ig at the department of homeland security. nobody should be under the misimpression that the lights are turned off at ig offices while they await a permanent ig, these officials and staff do a terrific job on behalf of the american people, and i commend them for their dedication and with that, mr. chairman, i'll yield back. >> all members will have seven days. i would ask unanimous consent because we're not sure whether we'll get to them, that the honorable daniel weurfel's opening statement be placed in the record as though he testified.

we now introduce the chair of the console of inspector generals or cigi as we will tend to call it here. also a returning favorite, the honorable brian d. miller who is the inspector general of the united states general services administration. welcome back. and mr. jake weens is the investigator for government oversight, often called pogo. welcome back. pursuant to house rules, i'd ask you to please rise to take the sworn oath. and raise your right hands. do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. let the record indicate all witnesses answered in the affirmative. please be seated. as i previously said, we're, unfortunately, today going to be on a very tight constraint because of votes. i will try to keep our folks to their five minutes. i'd ask you to try to stay to your five minutes, and i assure you we'll will stay as long as we can on a vote and if possible return as soon as possible.

with that, we recognize miss fong for her opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member cummings and members of the committee. it's a real privilege to be here today to represent the federal ig community which consists of 73 igs in the executive and legislative branches. and at the outset, before i get into the topic of this hearing, i would like to express the appreciation of the ig community to you and the members of the committee for your continuing support of our mission and your interest in our work. this committee has a noteworthy record of bipartisan support for the contributions of igs and in particular we note your work on the data act of 2012, which was recently passed by the house, and which contains several provisions that would greatly assist ig operations if enacted. so on behalf of the community we want to thank you for your support. my written statement provides an overview of the ig council's

activities so i'm going to focus my remarks on the role that we play as a council in filling ig vacancies. as has been remarked, the process to fill vacancies involves multiple players and a thorough vetting process. and cigi play as small role at the front end of this process. by law, we are responsible for submitting recommendations on potential ig candidates to the appropriate appointing authority, namely, the president for cabinet level agencies, and the agency head for smaller designated federal entity igs. to do this we have set up an ig recommendation panel to receive materials from interested candidates. the panel is composed of experienced igs who represent different kinds of ig offices, who bring insight and experience to the process. with respect to the pasigs, the panel provides recommendations

on an ongoing and continuous base ties the office of presidential personnel so that that office can consider candidates as vacancies arise. when a vacancy arises in a dfeig position, the panel contacts the appropriate agency head directly to offer its assistance in filling that vacancy. cigi actively reaches out to numerous groups to publicize this process and ensure that people who may be interested in ig positions understand the process that we play, the role that we play in the process, and that they are able to take advantage of that role. i should note here that while we do provide one source of ig candidates to appointing authorities, we are not the only source of candidates. for example, people who are interested in ig jobs can apply directly to the appointing authorities if they so desire. also, our recommendations are not binding. they are -- the appointing

authorities are not required to accept or to act on our recommendations when they make decisions on how to fill ig vacancies. once we provide our recommendations, our formal role in the appointment process is over. we look forward today to continuing our work in this area, and we welcome your questions and comments. thank you. >> thank you. inspector miller. >> good morning, chairman issa, ranking member cummings. members of the committee. thank you for inviting me here to talk about the role of inspectors general. my remarks today reflect only my personal experience. it is a great privilege for me to have served as inspector general since being confirmed in 2005. and i recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with this job. igs wield a large amount of discretion and authority. they issue reports that can have a devastating impact on the agency and individuals.

igs make criminal referrals, often resulting in felony convictions and incarceration. igs advise heads of federal agencies and the congress. we regularly appear at hearings such as this one, and often meet with members of congress and their staff. perhaps most importantly, igs need navigate sometimes difficult relationships with their home agency as well as relationships with other igs, agencies, prosecutors and the law enforcement community as a whole. part of the genius of our system of government is that igs provide the needed check and balance on the operation of federal agencies. now, the usual incentives for taking a presidential appointment do not apply to ig positions. igs are not policymakers. they apply the laws and policies already on the books.

they are not political. igs have to be nonpartisan, fair and impartial. finding and nominating the right person for the job is absolutely vital. igs have a dual reporting requirement to congress and th agency head. as one former inspector general sherman funk put it in the fall 1996 issue of the journal of public inquiry, dual reporting equates to, quote, straddling a barbed wire fence, unquote. mr. funk stated that because of the challenges facing igs the job must be done with sufficient common sense, a healthy dose of good humor, unremitting homework, support by professionally competent staff and above all a solid and reflexive integrity. then the barbed wire fence may cut occasionally, but it will not disable. based on my own experience, i believe that once selected and

appointed, an ig needs time and experience on the job to develop. long-term audit and investigative priorities, the ability to hire highly specialized staff, and the independence to accomplish the mission. my permanent appointment allowed me the needed leverage to make lasting improvements to my office and make long-term recommendations to gsa. additionally, i believe my impact has been greater because i have been able to create longstanding relationships with agency officials, the department of justice, and the congress. i have also worked hard to establish partnerships with state and local igs in law enforcement as part of my duties with the financial fraud enforcement task force. examples of some of the steps i have been able to take include the following. in 2008 i formed the office of forensic auditing to employ innovative auditing and

investigative techniques and to develop evidence that meets admissibility standards for prosecution in federal courts. in 2011 we began a criminal intelligence program to augment our investigative activities by consolidating our information gathering efforts and serving as a force multiplier for our special agents around the country. we have integrated our hot line into this program so that a trained investigative analyst looks at every complaint and tip to identify trends and connections to other open cases. additionally, our partnership broadens our agents to spot bribery and kickbacks. i appreciate the time and effort that went into confirming me as an inspector general. and i hope that my efforts have served the interests of the united states. thank you for your time, and i'd be happy to answer any questions.

>> thank you. mr. wiens. >> chairman issa, ranking member cummings, thank you for -- >> if you pull it closer. that's probably why you aren't hearing a little echo. thanks. >> my name is jake wiens. i'm an investigator at the projects on government oversight also known as pogo. from pogo's perspective the inspector general system is an essential component of a well functioning federal government. igs identify billions of dollars in cost savings every year. they conduct investigations that hold government officials and contractors accountable for misconduct and help to evaluate the effectiveness of government programs and policies. because pogo considers igs to be so incredibly important, we regularly undertake efforts to strengthen and improve the ig system as a whole. some of those efforts focus on giving igs the tools to be more independent. and other efforts have focused

on the necessity of holding igs themselves accountable for misconduct and poor performance. our most recent effort to strengthen the ig system is a web page called, "where are all the watchdogs"? it tracks the overall number and length of ig vacant sis and whose responsibility it is to fill the positions. pogo created the tracker because we firmly believe the effectiveness of an ig office can be diminished when an office does not have permanent leadership. ig offices led by permanent igs have structural advantages. some of those advantages are unique to the ig context and others are general management concepts that could apply in basically any organization. one structural advantage, permanent ig leadership involves independence. another advantage includes credibility. both of those qualities can have a huge determinant or effectiveness or lack of there of an ig office.

as of today, 10 of the 73 statutory ig positions are vacant. some of the positions have been without permanent leadership for years on end where others only recently became vacant. although the overall number of ig vacancies is important, the context surrounding vacancies is necessary to truly understand the implication of that vacancy. ig positions can become vacant for a variety of reasons. some of which are troubling, while others are completely appropriate. in some occasions a vacancy may be beneficial. likewise, ig vacancies can continue for extended periods of time for a variety of reasons. it's useful to look at some of the current vacancies to understand how they began why they have continued and what the implications of those vacancies might be. the state department ig has now been vacant for 1,576 days, over four years. the position became vacant when the state's most permanent ig resigned amid allegations he had been blocking criminal investigations into contractors

operating in iraq. the initiation of that vacancy created an opportunity to fill that position with a hely qualified and well respected permanent ig who could restore credibility to that ig office. but that opportunity has not been realized as the position has remained vacant without a nominee since the last year of the bush administration. the corporation for national service position has now been vacant for 1,064 days. the position became vacant in june 2009 when president obama removed the most recent under controversial circumstances. since waltman's termnition, the obama administration has nominated two candidates for the position. the first nominated in february 2010, but his nomination has been withdrawn and the second was nominated in november 2011 and has been awaiting senate confirmation for 177 days. the continued vacancy, regardless of fault, comes at a terrible time for the cncsig because the budget was cut in half in the fy 2012 appropriations.

the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction position has been vacant for 461 days. the position became vacant after the original resigned his office amid scrutiny from a bipartisan group of senators as well as pogo, who had arrived at the conclusion he was not qualified for such an important position. but the fact a replacement has not been appointed by the president, even though it has been more than a year since he resigned, shows it can be easier to create outside pressure for removal. it's just as bad as having an ineffective cigir. pogo strongly urges the obama administration and congress to make filling all of these vacancies a priority. but we also caution that filling the vacancies quickly should not come at the expense of identifying highly qualified candidates, a process which can take time. thank you very much for asking pogo for our views on these important issues. i'd be happy to answer any questions. >> thank you. before i