Press release from House GOP:
House Republicans Blast Democrats' Plan to Abolish OPEGA
Say politics, not budget savings, is the real agenda

AUGUSTA - As the budget debate moves to center stage in the Legislature, House Republican leaders today urged the Democrats to strip out a provision that would abolish the independent agency that investigates and exposes government waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. The watchdog group - the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) - has been targeted for shutdown as part of the majority party's plan to reduce the state budget by $190 million.

"It seems clear that the Democrats trying to kill OPEGA don't like independent investigators exposing wasteful spending and shoddy management," said Rep. Bob Crosthwaite (R-Ellsworth), the assistant leader of House Republicans. "If I were a liberal Democrat, I'd like to get rid of OPEGA, too."