It's a privilege to serve as Chairman of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI). My mission as PSI Chairman is to crack down on waste and fraud in government and rout out wrongdoing on behalf of the American taxpayer.
Created in 1948, the mission of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations initially focused on inefficiency, impropriety, and illegality in government operations. Since 1957, however, its jurisdiction has been expanded considerably, encompassing investigations within the broad ambit of PSI's parent committee, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. These responsibilities range from the effectiveness of present national security methods to the operations and management of Federal regulatory policies and programs. While its jurisdictional reach is long and wide, PSI performs a very important and necessary function within the Senate, protecting the interests of the American people.
PSI's roots can be traced back to former President Harry S. Truman. Then U.S. Senator, President Truman chaired the Special Committee to Investigate National Defense Program, otherwise known as the "Truman Committee," during Word War II. Since then, the Subcommittee has not detracted from investigating the most pertinent issues facing our government and society. Armed with a broad jurisdictional mandate, the Subcommittee has in recent years conducted investigations into a wide variety of topics such as organized crime activities, health care fraud, and the proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. PSI will undoubtedly continue to play is a vital role in uncovering mass fraud and abuse within our government. For a complete history of PSI, please visit http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/psihistory.htm.
Today we at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations are proud to continue this mission of enforcing ethics and fiscal responsibility in government. Currently, the Subcommittee is conducting an historical and groundbreaking investigation into allegations of abuse and misconduct related to the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. Specifically, the Subcommittee is examining how Saddam Hussein was able to manipulate the U.N.'s program to generate billions of dollars of illegal cash. The investigation will examine who was complicit in Hussein's abuses of the Program and how those abuses hurt American interests. Part of the inquiry will analyze whether money generated from the OFF Program has been used to fund international terrorism or the insurgency in Iraq.
My work at the Subcommittee also reaches right back home here to Minnesota. On May 12, 2003, I held a hearing in Anoka, Minnesota called Border Security: How Are State and Local Officials Coping With the New Levels of Threat? I wanted to hear from state and local officials about how they are dealing with potential threats across our land, lake, and air routes and what the federal government can do to support our local officials in keeping America's border secured. My Subcommittee heard testimony from Minnesota law enforcement officers and experts. It was a productive hearing and it highlighted the need for more border security personnel. Thanks in great part to that input, this year the federal government provided funding to add 10,000 new border patrol officers over the next five years.
Other recent PSI investigations during the last two years include:
The Subcommittee held a hearing in July 2004 titled Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption. This year-long investigation focused on Riggs Bank and the failure of timely oversight by federal banking regulators to combat money laundering and suspicious activity. As a result of this investigation, Congress passed a Levin-Coleman amendment imposing a 1-year cooling off period before a senior federal bank examiner can take a job with a financial institution that he or she was responsible for overseeing.
On June 17 and July 22, 2004, the Subcommittee held hearings to examine extent to which consumers can purchase prescription pharmaceuticals and controlled substances over the Internet without a medical prescription or medical diagnosis and whether the pharmaceuticals that are pouring into the United States from foreign sources are counterfeit, expired, unsafe or legitimate. The Subcommittee determined that 20,000 drug products containing controlled substances were imported daily. According to the FDA, drugs procured outside the United States regulatory system can be dangerous for numerous reasons.
On March 24, 2004, after an eight-month investigation into the consumer credit counseling industry, the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled Profiteering in a Non-Profit Industry: Abusive Practices in Credit Counseling. The investigation revealed that a new, aggressive class of agencies had entered into the industry with a for-profit business model designed to generate massive revenues to fund advertising, marketing, executive salaries, and other activities other than actual credit counseling. The IRS, FTC, and several state attorneys general have since taken extensive enforcement actions against those who have abused the non-profit industry.
After a year-long investigation, the Subcommittee held two days of hearings on abusive tax shelters in November, 2003 titled: The U.S. Tax Shelter Industry: The Role of Accountants, Lawyers, and Financial Institutions. As a result of this investigation, Congress passed a Levin-Coleman amendment increasing penalties for promoters of abusive tax shelters.
On September 30, 2003, the Subcommittee a held hearing, Privacy & Piracy: The Paradox of Illegal File sharing on Peer-to-Peer Networks and the Impact of Technology on the Entertainment Industry, to assess the recording industry=s use of the subpoena process delineated in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and its initial salvo of copyright infringement lawsuits and how the illegal trading of copyrighted works has hurt the music industry..
The Subcommittee held a hearing in June 2003 on the need to improve patient safety during hospital stays. There have been numerous stories about the incidence of disease and mistakes endangering the welfare of patients. The June 2003 hearing focused on some of the past problems as well as the solutions that are either being implemented or in development.
The Subcommittee has held three hearings on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The Subcommittee's investigation so far has covered the adequacy of the response to the initial outbreak by state and federal agencies, best practices for dealing with future SARS cases, and the preparations for renewed outbreaks in Minnesota.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations' Website can be found at: http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Subcommittees.Home&SubcommitteeID;=11&Initials;=PSI
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