New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang and two nationally recognized government oversight experts are calling for stronger protections and expanded authority for inspectors general, arguing that independent oversight is increasingly under threat at all levels of government.
In a newly published article in the American University Administrative Law Review, Lang joined authors David Eichenthal and Daniel Feldman in outlining what they describe as a roadmap for modernizing and strengthening inspectors general offices nationwide.
The article, titled “The Case for More Independent and Effective Inspectors General,” comes 40 years after creation of the New York State Inspector General’s Office and nearly 50 years after passage of the federal Inspector General Act of 1978.
The authors argue that inspectors general play a critical role in government accountability by exposing misconduct, improving public operations and protecting taxpayer dollars, but warned that political interference and attacks on oversight offices threaten public trust.
“All Americans who prize democracy should care about the integrity of independent oversight,” Lang said in a statement announcing the publication. “I’m proud to have worked alongside two of the preeminent thinkers about good government to imagine a future in which IGs are increasingly impactful.”
The article calls for reforms aimed at protecting inspectors general from political pressure while making oversight work more accessible and outcome-focused for the public.
Several current and former national oversight officials endorsed the paper, including former U.S. House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney, former Interior Department Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt and Association of Inspectors General President Will Fletcher.
Fletcher said inspectors general nationwide are facing “unprecedented attacks,” including dismissals, restricted access to records and declining public confidence in institutions.
The publication arrives amid broader national debates over government transparency, ethics enforcement and institutional accountability at both state and federal levels.
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