On January 21, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the appointment of Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., as Inspector General for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2016. The inspector general works to prevent, detect and investigate fraud, abuse and waste in state health and human services programs.
 
Bowen previously served for nearly ten years as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), leading the federal agency charged with overseeing $62 billion in US tax dollars appropriated for Iraq's reconstruction.  Reporting to the Secretaries of Defense and State, Bowen secured nearly $2 billion in taxpayer benefits, obtained over 90 convictions, produced over 500 reports, and traveled to Iraq 35 times.          
 
The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.