U.S. House Gets Another Clean Financial Bill of Health

For the second year running, the House of Representatives has received a clean financial bill of health, marking another milestone in Republicans’ efforts to lead by example and protect taxpayer dollars.

In her announcement touting the audit, which was conducted by the independent Office of Inspector General, House Administration Committee Chairman Candice Miller (R-MI) praised the efforts of House officials and noted the strides taken under Republican leadership to restore financial transparency and accountability:
“Prior to 2009, the House had received clean opinions for eleven consecutive years. However in 2009 and 2010, due to a lack of internal controls, the House took a step backwards and received two years of adverse opinions. The commitment by Chief Administrative Officer Dan Strodel and his team to take the necessary actions to restore the House’s good financial standing is to be commended.”This news comes less than a week after Speaker Boehner, Chairman Miller, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced that after three years of Republican leadership, the House is on track to save taxpayers more than $400 million in House operations. In a report on the cost-cutting effort, USA Today noted that “when Republicans took control of the House in January 2011, Boehner, the new speaker, said cutting House spending would be a priority.” Cutting the cost of Congress was a plank in the Pledge to America.

Cleaning up Congress’s books has been a long-time priority for Speaker Boehner, a former small business owner. Here’s a snapshot from his release applauding last year’s clean audit:
“Speaker Boehner first called for independent audits of the House in 1992 when he was part of the ‘Gang of Seven.’ And in September 1999, as Vice Chairman of the House Administration Committee, Boehner joined House leaders to announce the first-ever ‘clean’ audit of the House books. Boehner praised the House for holding itself ‘as accountable as anyone in the private sector would do.’ . . .”

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