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Bipartisan congressional caucus creates culture for transparency

Congressional oversight is a fundamental constitutional duty, and an important tool to detect problems in the government. Recognizing this, a bipartisan congressional Watchdog Caucus has launched with the goal of increasing oversight in government. The caucus’ purpose is to expose fraud, waste and abuse and will promote a more open government.

The Watchdog Caucus’ mission is one we fully endorse: promoting accountability of government employees and creating a culture of transparency and protecting taxpayer dollars.

The goal of the Watchdog Caucus is to empower watchdogs, wherever they are. Watchdogs include inspectors general, federal auditors, Freedom of Information Act officers, whistleblowers and transparency groups like Public Citizen, as well as private individuals.

Taxpayers need and deserve strong watchdogs to guard against waste, fraud and abuse. Watchdog Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) both have a history of investigating abuse and fraud within the government. Speier has spent the last 29 years encouraging openness on all levels of government and promoting the rights and protections of whistleblowers and others who expose government waste and abuse. Coffman is the chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

“Establishing the Watchdog Caucus is only the first step to get control of the abuses exposed by government watchdogs and to tap the expertise of experienced investigators,” wrote Speier and Coffman in a recent Politico op-ed. “Moving forward, we want to be champions of whistleblowers and a constituency for good government.”

For more about the Watchdog Caucus, visit its web site.

Keith Wrightson is Public Citizen’s workplace safety expert. Keep up with Public Citizen’s workplace health and safety work by following @SafeWorkers on Twitter.