Unity of Effort

On Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) will host an all-day conference to educate the public about the impact of the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the work of federal Inspectors General in the 40 years since passage of the Act. Discussion will feature distinguished speakers including Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and other Members of Congress, Inspectors General, academics, and others in the oversight community.

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, established 73 independent Offices of Inspector General (OIG) within federal agencies to provide oversight and to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness throughout the federal government. Today, over 14,000 OIG employees work to detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct in federal programs and personnel. This work has resulted in recommendations for hundreds of billions of dollars of potential savings, tens of thousands of successful prosecutions, and transformational government reforms. For example, the Department of Homeland Security OIG revealed critical security vulnerabilities in TSA’s airport security screenings which resulted in significant changes to TSA operations, training, and policy; a review by the General Services Administration OIG transformed the way federal agencies plan and host conferences and enhanced stewardship of tax dollars; and a joint review by the U.S. Postal Service OIG and the Department of Labor OIG resulted in regulation of compound drug prescriptions in workers compensation claims, potentially protecting the government from billions of dollars in future fraud. While not all of the audits, inspections, or investigations conducted by the OIGs make headlines, all of their work makes a difference.

"Inspectors General have had a profound impact on the U.S. government. Their independent oversight brings to bear incontrovertible improvement in federal programs, and continues to reveal instances of fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct. This year, we will commemorate all that we have accomplished, and look forward to the future of continued stewardship and accountability in the federal government," stated CIGIE Chair Michael Horowitz, who is also the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Visit our webpage at ignet.gov/2018-commemoration to register for the event and view highlights of the IG community and additional press resources.

For more information on the work of a specific OIG, please contact the press officer for the individual IG: ignet.gov/sites/default/files/files/point-of-contact.pdf.