Landsman Leads 100+ Members of Congress to Fight Federal Cuts to Government Watchdog
Cincinnati, OH – Today, Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole addressing major proposed cuts to the U.S. Government Accountability office.
Congressman Landsman led a letter – signed by 103 House Democrats – to Speaker Johnson and Chairman Cole urging them to reverse course on a proposed cut of nearly $400 million to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) – nearly 50 percent of the agency’s annual budget.
GAO is Congress’s independent, nonpartisan watchdog that investigates waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government with the goal of saving taxpayer money. GAO provides Congress and the public with fact-based information and holds agencies accountable – to keep the government working for the people. Since 2002, the GAO has resulted in $1.45 trillion in savings for the federal government, including $67.5 billion just last year. Cutting the GAO’s budget in half would drastically weaken its ability to deliver future savings.
Congressman Landsman’s letter reads, in part:
“There is strong support – from both lawmakers and the public – for making government more efficient, effective, and accountable – and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. . . .
“Cutting GAO’s budget in half would significantly weaken its ability to deliver future savings throughout the government. The proposed funding reduction would result in a loss of more than 2,200 expert staff, hamstring critical oversight work, eliminate technical assistance to Congress, and delay or cancel ongoing investigations. Congress should be investing more in GAO’s work – not less.
“We cannot fight waste, fraud, and abuse by gutting the one agency most responsible for uncovering it. We all want to make government work better – and that requires ensuring the GAO has the resources it needs to continue its work for the American people.
“As such, we urge you to reverse these cuts to GAO, and work with Members of both parties to preserve full funding going forward.”
The full text of Congressman Landsman’s letter can be found here.
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