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WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today announced that he has hired Michael Zola, an Assistant Director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, to join the Committee’s staff as its Chief Investigative Counsel.
“Oversight is a constitutional responsibility of the Congress. Oversight is how we make sure that the laws we write are working as they were intended, and that government is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible,” said Miller. “Without thorough oversight, taxpayers lack adequate assurances that their money is being spent wisely.
“Michael Zola is a serious public servant who has committed his entire career to improving government performance for the benefit of the American people. He will make an excellent addition to the professional staff of the Committee. I am very pleased to have him on board,” said Miller.
As the Chief Investigative Counsel for the Committee, Zola will direct an oversight and investigations staff that will examine programs and agencies within the three Departments under the Committee’s jurisdiction. They are the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services.
Zola, 41, is now an Assistant Director for Forensic Audits and Special Investigations at the GAO, where he manages a team of forensic auditors and criminal investigators to expose governmental fraud, waste, and abuse. In just the last year, Zola has helped identify tens of millions of dollars in misspent government funds. Zola began his career at the GAO in 1989 as an analyst.
Zola is a native of Yardville, New Jersey. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rider College in New Jersey; a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh; and a law degree with honors from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
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