{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-plan-to-fix-pow/mia-recovery-efforts-included-in-defense-bill", "McCaskill Plan to Fix POW/MIA Recovery Efforts Included in Defense Bill", "2014-12-09", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "McCaskill Plan to Fix POW/MIA Recovery Efforts Included in Defense Bill \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Once law, Senator\u2019s proposal will create single POW/MIA agency to ensure accountability of efforts \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 9, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 Following a nearly two-year effort, this year\u2019s annual defense bill will include a plan by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill that directs the Secretary of Defense to designate a single organization to handle POW/MIA accounting efforts. \u00a0\r\n\u201cThis is a critical step in the right direction,\u201d said McCaskill, the daughter of a World War II veteran. \u201cFor too long our country\u2019s POW/MIA recovery efforts have been stymied by mismanagement and a lack of oversight. These crucial reforms will centralize a currently decentralized process and hopefully allow the accounting mission to proceed more effectively and efficiently than it has in the past.\u201d\r\nMcCaskill, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been at the forefront of the fight to address systemic mismanagement of the Pentagon's POW/MIA recovery efforts.\r\nIn May, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved McCaskill\u2019s plan to strengthen POW/MIA recovery efforts by establishing a single agency responsible for those efforts, with one federal official in charge. The amendment to this year\u2019s annual defense bill\u2014which follows a similar recommendation\u00a0by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel\u2014addresses the key deficit identified by the Government Accountability Office and McCaskill, which is that there was no one agency or official in charge to coordinate and be held accountable for POW/MIA recovery.\r\nThis is the first official step in restructuring POW/MIA accounting following\u00a0McCaskill's investigation last year into the troubled recovery efforts.\r\nVisit mccaskill.senate.gov/veterans to read highlights of McCaskill\u2019s work to deliver for our veterans.\u00a0\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-plan-to-fix-pow/mia-recovery-efforts-included-in-defense-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2102310322225094, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}