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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 8, 2020

Contact: Brooke Lillard, 202-225-2965



The Hill Opinion: It's Time to Strengthen Protections for Government Watchdogs to Protect Our Taxpayer Dollars



WASHINGTON-Today, in an exclusive op-ed in The Hill<[link removed]>, members of the Blue Dog Coalition-Reps. Jim Cooper (TN-05), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), and Ed Case (HI-01)-called on Congress to take up the Blue Dog-backed<[link removed]> Inspectors General Independence Act in order to protect our taxpayer dollars during a time of unprecedented spending. The legislation establishes seven-year terms for Inspectors General (IGs) and protects them from politically-motivated firings by only allowing for removal for cause-reforms that have earned strong bipartisan support in the past.



The bill was introduced by Rep. Cooper, a longtime member of the Blue Dog Coalition and advocate for government reform, following a series of actions<[link removed]> by the White House that have undermined the ability of IGs to oversee the government's pandemic response. Those actions have raised bipartisan concern<[link removed]> on Capitol Hill.



It's Time to Strengthen Protections for Government Watchdogs in Order to Protect our Taxpayer Dollars

By Reps. Jim Cooper (TN-05), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), and Ed Case (HI-01)

The Hill Opinion

May 8, 2020



"Never has Congress spent as much money as quickly as we have in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are on track to spend trillions of dollars-roughly the equivalent to the U.S. cost of World War II, which lasted four long years. We will be paying COVID-19 bills for generations, so every dollar should be wisely spent; otherwise our regrets will be monstrous."



Read the full opinion piece here.<[link removed]>



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The Blue Dog Coalition is an official caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives comprised of fiscally-responsible Democrats, who are leading the way to find commonsense solutions. They are pragmatic Democrats, appealing to the mainstream values of the American public. The Blue Dogs are dedicated to pursuing fiscally-responsible policies, ensuring a strong national defense for our country, and transcending party lines to get things done for the American people. Visit our website<[link removed]> to learn more, and get the latest news updates by following us on Twitter<[link removed]> or liking us on Facebook<[link removed]>.