The 33rd President of the United States, Harry Truman, gained initial prominence from his oversight efforts related to World War II. As Congress allocated $10.5 billion to strengthen U.S. military bases and equipment, then-Senator Truman embarked on a 10,000-mile drive to see how the federal government spent the money. The wartime profiteering and waste he witnessed shocked him. He proposed establishing a special committee upon returning to Washington to investigate the country's defense contracts.
The Senate unanimously approved the committee's creation on March 1, 1941. It directed it to explore "the procurement and construction of supplies, materials, munitions, vehicles, aircraft, vessels, plants, camps, and other articles and facilities in connection with the national defense" (Senate Resolution 71). In May 1942, the committee was officially renamed the Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, also known as the "Truman Committee."
From the beginning, Senator Truman insisted on taking a fact-based approach to the committee's work. He also emphasized working on behalf of the American people to guard against wartime abuses.
It's good to know that something similar exists in 2022 concerning pandemic-related malfeasance. Enter the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
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