Trump and Vought Illegally Defund Nonpartisan Government Watchdogs

WASHINGTON – House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro issued the following statement on President Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought unilaterally and unlawfully defunding the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) through the apportionment process:

“This is a five-alarm fire. OMB has unlawfully defunded the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency—a direct attack on independent oversight. We are a rule-of-law country, and at this critical moment, Congress must protect Inspectors General on a bipartisan, bicameral basis. I applaud Senators Collins and Grassley for their leadership in defending independent watchdogs. 

“Moving forward, two reforms are urgent. First, Congress must safeguard the independence of Inspectors General by exempting their funds from OMB’s control. As we are witnessing in real time, OMB is choking off resources of the Council of the Inspectors General to halt their operations, undermining CIGIE’s independence and impairing their entire mission. Inspectors General must have guaranteed access to their funds, free from OMB interference and subject to proper congressional oversight. Second, OMB has operated in the shadows for far too long. The agency needs its own dedicated Inspector General to provide independent and sustained oversight of its budget execution process.

“This moment demands action. The fastest way to restore trust is to guarantee Inspectors General true independence—and to finally establish an Inspector General at the ‘nerve center of federal spending,’ the Office of Management and Budget. I call on Russ Vought and the Office of Management and Budget to release CIGIE’s funding immediately, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure this never happens again.”

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is comprised of all Inspectors General, who are presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed or who are agency head appointed, and other senior personnel. The Council’s mission is government-wide, and its work focuses on addressing areas of weakness and vulnerability in Federal programs and operations with respect to fraud, waste, and abuse. They are responsible for the professional training of auditors, investigators, inspectors, evaluators, and other personnel of the various offices of the Inspector General.

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