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Liz Hempowicz Profile picture
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30 Sep, 4 tweets, 3 min read
I've been quieter on Twitter than usual, but POGO's policy team has been toiling away to advance reforms through Congress to protect #whistleblowers and empower inspectors general. Those reforms are desperately needed to prevent waste and fraud:
marketwatch.com/story/5-of-the…
Next week, the @HSGAC will hold a hearing to consider three bills that would empower nonpartisan inspectors general to aggressively carry out their anti fraud and waste mission, without fear that it will lead to their firing. hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/09/29…
The House considered, and passed in a bipartisan vote, one of those three bills three months ago. I was honored to testify in support of that legislation - the IG Independence and Empowerment Act. pogo.org/testimony/2021…
Last month POGO joined @IssueOneReform and organizations across the political spectrum to urge @HSGAC, Chaired by @SenGaryPeters and @senrobportman, to consider these bills and advance them in their strongest forms. I hope that's what we see next week! issueone.org/wp-content/upl…

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More from @lizhempowicz

Liz Hempowicz Profile picture
29 Jun
The House has begun consideration of the #IG Independence and Empowerment Act. The bill would protect our nonpartisan watchdogs from political interference and give them the tools they need to oversee the executive branch.
For example, did you know IGs can't compel former agency employees to cooperate with their investigations? That means someone abusing the powers of government or wasting taxpayer resources can evade accountability by simply taking another job. This bill would fix that.
By now, anyone who paid passing attention to the news in the last year knows that a president can fire these *independent* watchdogs for any reason at all and that the current law doesn't require them to explain that reason to Congress. The potential for abuse here is massive.
Read 18 tweets
Liz Hempowicz Profile picture
21 Apr
🧵Are you worried about government corruption?

Well let me introduce you to Inspectors General, the independent watchdogs that exist to identify government corruption. I'll also explain why Congress must give them removal protections to preserve their independence. 1/18
As I testified in the House yesterday, Congress created federal inspectors general because the previous approach of letting government agencies oversee themselves for waste and corruption was a failure. 2/18
Instead, Congress created federal inspectors general to root out corruption, waste, and fraud. These offices are in executive branch agencies but are removed from the normal agency chain of command to give them the independence they need to conduct objective oversight. 3/18
Read 18 tweets
Liz Hempowicz Profile picture
3 Mar 20
Ranking Member @TomColeOK04 starts the Rules committee hearing on congressional authorities by remarking that in most hearings the committee is split 9-4, talking about the party breakdown, but today it is a united 13-0. c-span.org/video/?469936-…
@TomColeOK04 Immediately before, @RepMcGovern explained that all witnesses were chosen on a bipartisan basis and the briefing for the committee members was conducted by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. The issue is nonpartisan and the solutions should be nonpartisan as well.
@TomColeOK04 @RepMcGovern Sobering but brief opening statement from @DrLauraBelmonte. You can read her whole statement for the record here: docs.house.gov/meetings/RU/RU…
Read 51 tweets
Liz Hempowicz Profile picture
14 Nov 19
There is a lot of misinformation out there about what makes someone a #whistleblower - specifically in the intelligence community (not sure why, just kidding yes I do). I'm hoping to clear some of that up. A thread:
Importantly, the word whistleblower has two meanings and it's good to be clear about which one you're using. One is a legal definition, rooted in the various statutes Congress has passed, and the other is a broader definition. In this thread, I'm using the legal definition.
A whistleblower 1. makes a disclosure to specific individuals and 2. has a reasonable belief that the disclosure shows a violation of law, rule, or regulation OR mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety
Read 9 tweets
Liz Hempowicz Profile picture
11 Feb 19
It's the moment that approximately 2 of you have been waiting for! We at @POGOBlog released our Baker’s Dozen at the end of January – so it’s about time I do a tweet thread about it. pogo.org/report/2019/01…
The Baker’s Dozen is our biennial publication, where we provide a 30 thousand foot view of the issues POGO’s great team of investigators has uncovered and the recommendations that our Policy team has made to address those issues.
We release the Baker’s Dozen at the start of each new Congress to give new and returning members ideas for both oversight and legislative reform. It covers 13 policy areas, from ethics in the executive branch to the administration of public lands. There is something for everyone!
Read 15 tweets

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