inspector general rymer disagrees with mr. cole's findings of impaired independence. however, mr. rymer's evidence does not square with evidence presented by mr. coleman. for these reasons, senator johnson of wisconsin and i will be asking the comptroller general, the guardian of government audit standards, to review all relevant evidence. since independence is the cornerstone of audit integrity, we must be certain it has not been compromised. now, just yesterday another blockbuster report has been rolled out. the government accountability office has just issued a highly critical report. it was prepared at the request of senators johnson, mccaskill and carper. the government accountability office report is thorough and competent and tells the story as it happened. over the last two years the g.a.o. team hemmed endless meet -- held endless meetings with the office of inspector general, including jon rymer and dan blair. so the i.g. has known for some time what was coming down the pike. they knew early on the g.a.o. report -- or the g.a.o. concluded that the evidence in the work pape