http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_10696563?nclick_check=1
Sen. Coleman led well and exposed billions in waste and fraud
By Joseph Lieberman As the former chairman and current ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), Sen. Norm Coleman used the subcommittee to solve real problems facing Americans.
As chair of the full committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, of which PSI is a subcommittee, I have had the good fortune to work closely with Norm Coleman over the years. Working in a bipartisan manner, he focused on three important national priorities: fixing weaknesses in America's homeland security; rooting out fraud, waste and abuse in government spending; and bolstering consumer protection. I am proud to report that in each of these areas, real progress has been made.
As a result of Coleman's leadership, PSI has exposed more than $80 billion in fraud, waste and abuse in government operations. He identified multiple vulnerabilities in the Medicare system, which recently led to sweeping changes in Medicare to prevent scam artists from ripping off taxpayer dollars.
With the Government Accountability Office, he pinpointed weaknesses in our nation's radiological licensing practices and brought about changes to help prevent terrorists from obtaining radioactive materials here in the United States. He also revealed the predatory practices of credit counseling agencies that take advantage of folks trying to dig their way out of debt. This effort ultimately strengthened efforts by the IRS to combat these abuses.
Yet, despite the long record of PSI successes, some partisan critics assert that he should have focused the subcommittee's attention exclusively on Iraq. They are wrong, for several reasons.
There are roughly a dozen agencies auditing U.S. governmental operations and expenditures related to Iraq, ranging from military contracting to Iraqi reconstruction projects. In fact, Congress specifically created a nonpartisan entity to audit Iraq contracts and investigate any wrongdoing. That entity, which was created in 2004 and continues to this day, is called the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR). The SIGIR has issued more than 260 reports on Iraqi reconstruction, including 122 audits, 122 project assessments and 18 quarterly reports to Congress on all aspects of Iraq reconstruction.
Moreover, in contrast to these agencies, which have multimillion-dollar budgets and boots-on-the-ground in Iraq, PSI has a small staff and no real ability to station staff in Iraq. PSI is simply not in a position to conduct the necessary examinations and inspections.
Furthermore, any suggestion Sen. Coleman stymied Democrats' investigations into Iraq-related matters is unfair and unfounded. Under the subcommittee's rules, the Republican and Democratic leaders have the right to initiate an inquiry at any time. Neither party leader did that. In short, the fact remains: at no time did Coleman hinder, reject or refuse an inquiry into Iraq-related matters.
In late 2003, my friend, former Minnesota Sen. Mark Dayton, who also served on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, suggested that PSI investigate certain allegations of abuse by U.S. contractors in Iraq. Coleman responded to him that he shared his concern about the allegations and noted there were several different nonpartisan, independent auditors already examining these contracts.
As a result of these investigations, four detailed reports were issued. In addition, a United Nations-created entity, called the International Advisory and Monitoring Board, also examined these transactions. Ultimately, $3.8 million was withheld by the Defense Department as a result of the overcharging in these transactions. The oversight mechanism was in place, and it worked.
To assert that Norm Coleman did anything less than a first-rate job on PSI demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the subcommittee and ignores the substantial positive changes that his investigations have caused.
Joseph Lieberman represents Connecticut in the U.S. Senate and is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
