FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 1997
No. OV-2
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on "high-risk" programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, along with other management issues. The hearing will take place on March 4, 1997, in the main committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be heard from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the inspectors general of several departments and agencies. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND
The GAO has issued the third in a series of reports on Federal programs it has identified as high risk because of vulnerabilities to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. The February 1997 series identifies 25 high-risk areas. Several fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, including Internal Revenue Service (IRS) financial management, IRS receivables, filing fraud, IRS Tax Systems Modernization, Customs Service financial management, asset forfeiture programs, the year 2000 problem, information security, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Superfund program management.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The GAO's high-risk work has zeroed in on programs in which there is the greatest potential for wasting tax dollars. These reports will be tremendously helpful to the Subcommittee in its ongoing oversight of the programs within the Committee's jurisdiction."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING
Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS, Medicare, and SSI will be a primary focus. However, all of the programs identified by the GAO, as well as the work of the inspectors general, will be examined during the hearing.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business, Tuesday, March 18, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-225-1904 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.