The following was first said by me about Congress in 1992, from my book Unaccountable Congress:
“New York proved the point: dishonest accounting and financial management systems lead to big problems. Congress and the State of New York fixed the Big Apple’s problems by insisting on the use of the rigorousGAAP standards. But Congress has been far less willing to impose the same tough standardson its own spending, lending, and guaranteeing, and on its own flock of GSEs. And so, when calamity overtook the Farm Credit System and the thrift industry, a large part of the federal government’s response was to concoct accounting devices–either to make it appear therewas no problem or, failing that, give the impression that the problem was solved.
“It should be clear by now that we as a nation cannot tolerate this kind of dangerous deception in our public accounting. The crises described in this chapter alone are enough to boggle the taxpayers’ mind, as well as clean out his or her wallet. But, alas, there is more. Thereis the whole matter of federal retirement and pension systems, starting with the granddaddy of them all, Social Security.”
I called it Congressional Child Abuse, since we’re sending our kids that bill.
Who Needs “Recovery.gov” When We Have Stimulus Watch?
President Obama’s Recovery.gov reminds me of my days in Congress when the White House would have its set of numbers, Congress would come up with its budget numbers and the auditors at the Federal Reserve had an accounting of the real damage.
“StimulusWatch.org was built to help the new administration keep its pledge to invest stimulus money smartly, and to hold public officials to account for the taxpayer money they spend. We do this by allowing you, citizens around the country with local knowledge about the proposed “shovel-ready” projects in your city, to find, discuss and rate those projects. These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.”
In other words, the Mercatus Center is telling us the rest of the story — and the rest of the debt!!!
Hidden debt, for sure, and not something you will find on Recovery.gov.
“Once a small blip among federal outlays, emergency supplemental spending has exploded since 2002 when the Republican Congress let a key legislative restriction on its use expire. Now supplemental bills are Congress and the Administration’s tool of choice for avoiding the annual budget caps and dramatically increasing government spending.”
Take a closer look at the Mercatus Center’s research on accountability and government oversight.
President Obama’s Recovery.gov reminds me of my days in Congress when the White House would have its set of numbers, Congress would come up with its budget numbers and the auditors at the General Accounting Office had an accounting of the real damage.
“StimulusWatch.org was built to help the new administration keep its pledge to invest stimulus money smartly, and to hold public officials to account for the taxpayer money they spend. We do this by allowing you, citizens around the country with local knowledge about the proposed “shovel-ready” projects in your city, to find, discuss and rate those projects. These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.”
In other words, the Mercatus Center is telling us the rest of the story — and the rest of the debt!!!
Hidden debt, for sure, and not something you will find on Recovery.gov.
Former Congressman and President of Truth In Government, Joe DioGuardi holds "Congresstional Credit Card".
OUR FIVE POINT PLAN:
1.Develop a fair and accurate budgeting, accounting,and reporting process. Convert the current cash basis accounting system used in the annual Congressional budgeting process to the system of "Generally Accepted Accounting Principles" (GAAP) required of publicly traded corporations by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
2.Publish clear and accurate information on the finances of the federal government annually. Use GAAP to disclose all spending and commitments to spend, ensuring our national debt to foreign sources is clearly delineated.
3.Make the Chief Financial Officer's function a Cabinet-level position and remove financial management and reporting functions from the Treasury Department and transfer them to that position. Engage independent auditors.
4.Create a new independent body like the Federal Reserve System to promulgate a sound budgeting and accounting that will prevent political manipulation and conflicts of interest.
5.Tell Congress to implement meaningful reforms now.
Unaccountable Congress: It Doesn't Add Up is a must-read for directly challenging Congress. Learn more..
