Sens. John Boozman, Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte have introduced a legislation that aims to authorize Congress to appoint inspectors general for more than seven months, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
Josh Hicks writes that the measure intends to transfer the appointment power to the House speaker and the Senate president pro tempore when the president is unable to discharge the duty within 210 days of IG vacancies.
The bill’s proponents jointly said IGs will aim to ensure that taxpayer money is free of fraud and abuse throughout the government, the Post reports.
Hicks writes there are currently seven openings for the executive branch’s IGs as the Senate has yet to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominees, namely Steve Linick for the State Department, Scott Dahl for the Labor Department, Michael Carroll for the International Development Agency and Jon Rymer for the Defense Department.
Federal agencies work with appointed inspectors general along with permanent IGs, the Post reports.
