First Take
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GAO to Hill newbies: You thought this would be fun?
If they read David Walker’s 44-page set of recommendations to the 110th Congress, the new incoming members might wonder what the heck they’ve gotten themselves into. Talk about gloomy reading.
Ironically, the low-key Walker in person is engaging and cordial. He laughs at jokes and looks you in the eye. But his report sounds like a battle-hardened nurse welcoming a new crop of orderlies to the insane ward.
Earlier this week the Washington Post had a hilarious story about one frosh rep, Democrat John Hall from New York. Hall was lead guitarist for the pop-rock band Orleans. (Yes, the Orleans of “You’re Still the One.”) Hall, like so many of the newbies, ran on the Big Issues: Nuclear power, minimum wage, universal health care, the war in Iraq. One wonders how such idealists will deal with, say, whether the Homeland Security Department is exercising adequate oversight and program management of performance-based contracts.
The republic somehow limps along with tattered cybersecurity, porous financial systems and people who don’t pay their lawful tax bills. Nevertheless, those nuts and bolts issues are part of governing too. Like other GAO publications, Walker’s recommendations are clear and concise. And, heck, it’s their job to be the skunk at the garden party. It’s not the 9/11 Commission Report, but the Walker letter is worth reading.
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