IEC Journal

IGs Tackle Tough Problems

An October Federal Diary column about the annual awards ceremony for Inspectors General had some quotes from attendees that give a flavor for the type of work they do:

Award winner Crystal L. Johnson said "the public's biggest misconception about inspectors general is that "we're really just out to get people." Instead, she said, "We don't assume anybody's guilty, we look at the facts, and then we tell the facts after that."...

"You're not called in for the easy problems, you're called in for the hard problems," Jeffrey Zients, White House chief performance officer and CIGIE executive chairman, told the crowd Tuesday. "You're oftentimes not the most popular person in the room, and I'm sure at times that's very lonely." Regardless, he added: "We are in a period of urgency. This is not a period of business-as-usual or incremental change."

Interior IG Report on Gettysburg Superintendent

Perhaps predictably, a Washington Post story about an Inspector General report on the Superintendent of the Gettysburg National Park leads with scandalous accusations about accessing pornography on a government computer, but buries arguably more serious issues deep in the body of the story:

The inspector general's investigation noted that Latschar said the construction project would be funded by the foundation and that no taxpayer money would be used. However, as the price tag jumped from $39.3 million to $135 million, $35 million in public financing was ultimately needed to finish construction, records show.

The report also said that Latschar planned late last year to leave his [$145,000-a-year job as] superintendent to take a $245,000-a-year job as the foundation's president.

An internal Jan. 26, 2009, memo, obtained by The Post, shows that during the course of the inspector general's investigation, department ethics officials stepped in, pointing out several legal obstacles Latschar would face. The memo says post-government employment laws would prohibit him from performing many job duties, including "any communication to or appearance before an employee of the United States."

As a result, Latschar dropped his planned job move, records show.

OIG report on appearance of ethical violations at Bureau of Land Management

OIG found BLM National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) employees were engaged in inappropriate relationships with advocacy groups (nongovernmental organizations) and possibly violated anti-lobbying statutes and policies. In particular, NLCS employees produced items like brochures and fact sheets for NGO. A pattern that the OIG says revealed that communication between NLCS and certain NGOs in these circumstances gave the appearance of federal employees being less than objective and created the potential for conflicts of interest or violations of law.

See full report at

http://www.eenews.net/public/25/12636/features/documents/2009/10/05/document_gw_01.pdf

IG Report on VA official misuse of position

A recent Veterans Administration IG report sustained charges of misuse of position for personal gain against a VA Deputy Assistant Secretary of IT in addition to abuse of authority and prohibited personnel paractices.  See redacted report at http://www.va.gov/oig/51/fy2009rpts/VAOIG-09-01123-195.pdf

Federal Eye

The Washington Post's Federal Eye blog reports on the Federal Government, including this post on the latest developments concerning Inspectors General.

AmeriCorps IG Updates

Talking Point Memo provides continuing updates on the controversy over the firing of AmeriCorps IG Gerald Walpin.

Obama Ousts Top AmeriCorps IG

Time magazine reports on the President's decision to fire IG Gerald Walpin. TPM Muckraker gives its perspective.  ABC's Jake Tapper provides details on the firing.

IG Independence Allegations

The Washington Post reports that Senator Grassley and his staff are looking into allegations of infringement on Inspector General independence at some federal agencies.

DOD Inspector General Withdraws Report on Retired Officers

Today's New York Times reports in part:

In a highly unusual reversal, the Defense Department’s inspector general’s office has withdrawn a report it issued in January exonerating a Pentagon public relations program that made extensive use of retired officers who worked as military analysts for television and radio networks.

Donald M. Horstman, the Pentagon’s deputy inspector general for policy and oversight, said in a memorandum released on Tuesday that the report was so riddled with flaws and inaccuracies that none of its conclusions could be relied upon. In addition to repudiating its own report, the inspector general’s office took the additional step of removing the report from its Web site.

POGO Advocates IG Reforms

Government Executive has an article discussing a Project on Government Oversight report on possible Inspector General community reforms. The Washington Post also had a story on the report. The Post story concludes on a positive note:

Despite its criticisms, POGO gives generally favorable reviews to their overall mission and culture.

"This is not a broken system, but we do think there are new ways of thinking about IGs," said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian. "Everyone recognizes the importance of the job."

Controversy Over IGs & Stimulus Bill

The Washington Post reports on a controversy over a provision in the Recovery Act. Some Inspectors General are complaining that a provision in the Recovery Act that allows an oversight board to request IGs to stop particular investigations is susceptible to abuse. Others see no problem, as the bill provides that the IG retains the power to make the final decision, subject only to the requirement that they explain to Congress their reasons for rejecting the request.

Edited March 5 to correct typo.

UF Professor accused of NASA Grant Fraud

Federal investigators allege that 59 year old Samim Anghaie, a professor at the University of Florida, and three of his family members fraudulently received millions of dollars from NASA and then laundered money to personal bank accounts, court documents show.  Full story at:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090226/NEWS01/902260317/1006/news01

For more information on this alleged fraud:

http://www.mahalo.com/Samim_Anghaie

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/25/professor.raid/index.html

Respect for IG Concept Grows

Senator Grassley (R-IA) recently introduced the “Judicial Transparency and Ethics Enhancement Act of 2009” (S. 220), which would create an office of inspector general for the Judiciary.  Coming along with the enhanced authorities in the IG Reform Act of 2008, and the creation of IGs for Iraq, Afghanistan and the TARP financial bailout, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Congressional respect for the IG concept is increasing.

Disciplinary Actions at DOI

The Denver Post reports that multiple employees of the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service's royalties- in-kind unit have been administratively disciplined as the result of conflicts of interest discovered by the agency's Inspector General and reported here in September. The Minerals Management Service withheld details due to the Privacy Act.

IG Reform Act Sent to White House

On September 27, the Inspector General Report Act of 2008 (H.R. 928) received final passage and was cleared for White House action.  This legislation provides that  each IG shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.  The President would be required to communicate in writing to Congress the reasons for any removal or transfer of an IG not later than 30 days before that action.  Each IG would receive legal advice from a counsel reporting directly to the IG or another IG.  The Council on Integrity and Efficiency would be established as an independent entity within the Executive Branch. 

Added by IEC Team: The Project for Government Oversight provided their assessment of the legislation. They review the history of the bill and indicate a Presidential "signing statement" is expected.

OIG Reports on MMS Allegations

The main page of the Department of the Interior OIG web site currently has links to three reports with details of its investigations into the Minerals Management Service. In case they are moved from that location for archiving, here are direct links to the PDF versions, which will probably not change:

• Gregory W. Smith
• MMS Oil Marketing Group - Lakewood
• Federal Business Solutions Contracts

Thanks to an IEC member for suggesting we add the permanent links. The quality of this web site depends on member contributions and we welcome your input.

Movement on IG Bill

Government Executive reports on progress toward a bill that would increase Inspector General independence.

Role of Ethics in an Inspector General Investigation

Thanks to Tom Lehrich for providing the slide show used in the presentation he did with Al Larsen at the OGE conference last week on the topic The Role of Ethics in an Inspector General Investigation.

OGE's Internet Cafe at the conference was so popular that many people were not able to download the supplemental materials there. We will be glad to post here any conference materials that did not make their way onto the flash drives distributed at the conference.

IG: Attitudes at Interior "Decidedly Different"

This morning's NY Times has a story about the House Natural Resources Committee's hearing on alleged ethical violations at the Minerals Management Service. The agency head, Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, indicated he intended to comply with all recommendations of his agency's Inspector General, Earl E. Devaney and added:

This process will be completed as swiftly as possible, and we will examine the full spectrum of disciplinary actions, including termination.

The Times noted:

    But both the secretary and inspector general stressed that they believed 99.9 percent of Interior Department employees were hard-working and ethical. Mr. Devaney said the atmosphere at the royalty agency now “is decidedly different.”

OGE Conference: IGs & Incoming Senior Officials

Ric Cusick's keynote address for the Office of Goverment Ethics conference furthered the conference theme of "Transition" with many good ideas, including the thought that senior incoming officials should reduce their chances of getting in trouble by familiarizing themselves with previous IG recommendations (usually, but not always, the result of an audit) and the subjects of previous IG investigations.

This idea sounds like a real winner, and smart IGs may wish to provide summarizes to facilitate such orientation. The sample redacted memo provided here a few months ago may be useful in implementing Mr. Cusick's suggestion.

Post Weighs in on Dept. of Interior Story

This morning's Washington Post has a front page article on the DOI Inspector General allegations reported here last night. One point noted may have particular resonance for standards of conduct counselors:

Many employees identified in the report told investigators that they didn't think ethics rules applied to them because of their "unique" role in the agency and that they needed to socialize with industry representatives for "market intelligence," according to the report.

Many agencies have employees whose jobs entail interacting with industry, and it sounds like these jobs could be potential flash points.

IG Alleges Ethics Lapses at Dept. of Interior

The Department of Interior Inspector General has issued several reports alleging serious ethics problems at the Department of the Interior, specifically at the the Minerals Management Service. The New York Times has a related article. Pro Bono Publica has brief summaries of the reports.

OGE: Document Ethics Advice, Work With IGs

OGE responds to a GAO report entitled Post-Government Employment Restrictions and Foreign Agent Registration: Additional Action Needed to Enhance Implementation of Requirements 12-16 (July 2008), by providing the following guidance:

OGE strongly encourages agency ethics officials to document ethics advice provided to current and former employees.  Additionally, ethics officials should establish close working relationships with their respective Inspector General offices.  This includes providing Inspector General personnel with information when needed about the ethics advice given to specific individuals.  This also may include providing training and other assistance to help Inspector General personnel understand better the criminal conflict of interest laws, standards of conduct, and pertinent supplemental agency regulations.

VA OIG & Legal Times Lead Way on RSS Feeds

RSS adoption continues to increase in popularity. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General web site includes a good explanation of RSS feeds, as well as links to explanations of how to use them generally and with the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. Announcements of audits and reports are a great use for RSS, and the VA OIG deserves credit for making its information accessible to the public in this manner.

Law.com has a number of RSS feeds (including one for job announcements), and even provides a free RSS reader configured to pick up the most popular ones.

As noted previously, RSS feeds are the most convenient way to keep up with frequently-updated web sites that have adopted this new technology, including the IEC Journal. While dedicated RSS readers are probably more powerful than browser-based RSS access, browser-based access is better than no RSS access.

DOD OIG FOIA Reading Room

"It can't happen to me." Sound familiar?

Real life examples of high ranking officials whose disregard for ethics rules led to problems are one of the best ways to undercut this overconfident view.

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General's Freedom of Information Act "Electronic Reading Room" is a good place to look for cautionary tales to use in training. It archives files expected to be the frequent subject of FOIA requests, thus saving the agency processing time and reducing access time for the public. The reports available there include the following:

"Alleged Improprieties Related To Public Speaking: Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, U.S. Army Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence", August 5, 2004

Alleged Misconduct: General Kevin P. Byrnes, U.S. Army Commanding General U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, July 29, 2005

Alleged Misconduct: Vice Admiral John D. Stufflebeem, U.S. Navy Director, Navy Staff, March 19, 2008

More on DOD Auditor Story

Government Executive has a story on the reaction to GAO allegations of improper pressure against Defense Contract Audit Agency auditors reported here earlier.

DOD IG leaves for academia

Pentagon's top watchdog leaving post July 13
By Dan Friedman, CongressDaily

Defense Department Inspector General Claude (Mick) Kicklighter is resigning from his position atop one of the government's largest oversight organizations.

Kicklighter, who turns 75 next month, will become director of the George Mason University School of Law's Critical Infrastructure Protection Program, his office announced Tuesday. His last day will be July 13. President Bush immediately announced his intention to designate Labor Department Inspector General Gordon Heddell as acting Defense Department IG. Kicklighter's exit comes just 14 months into a five-year term, but officials in the IG's office said he has always planned to leave before the end of the Bush administration. During his tenure, Kicklighter has traveled frequently to Iraq and has sharply increased the personnel and resources his office devotes to oversight of U.S. spending in that country and Afghanistan. "His big concern was the war in Iraq and Afghanistan," said an official in the Pentagon IG's office. "He believed that they should be supported through the IG's mission."

Kicklighter, according to officials at other IG offices, has clashed with other oversight agencies over lines of authority in Iraq and Afghanistan. His office last year joined the Pentagon in unsuccessfully opposing the creation of a new Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. In May, a nonprofit watchdog group, the Project on Government Oversight, released an internal report produced by the Defense Department inspector general's office that argued its ability to oversee the Pentagon has been eroded as its budget has failed to keep pace with that of the Defense Department since 2001. The result is "gaps in coverage in important areas, such as major weapon systems acquisition, health care fraud, product substitution, and defense intelligence agencies," the report says. Kicklighter has spent 50 years in public service, much of it as an Army officer. Before taking the inspector general post, he was chief of staff in the Veterans Affairs Department and held several positions related to stabilization planning in Iraq and Afghanistan. His tenure drew praise from employees the DoD IG's office. "I hate to see him go," said one official. "He's a great manager."

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40380&dcn=e_gvet

Increased Role for IGs on Horizon?

A Government Executive story about improved relations between the acting GSA head and that agency's Inspector General goes on to discuss the role of IGs throughout the government:

Procurement observers from agencies, industry and Congress predicted that inspectors general, Congress and the White House would become more involved in contracting issues during the next year -- regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.

John Horan, a partner at Washington law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge, said the success that IGs have experienced in many of their recent investigations likely will empower them to more aggressively pursue, and possibly even expand, their oversight roles.

"There's nothing like success to drive investigators, and they've had success in what I consider the more traditional area of effective [contract] pricing ... and have also been successful in some of the less traditional compliance areas, such as the [1979] Trade Agreements Act," he said.

Horan said IGs could increase interagency coordination for certain probes. Regulatory changes also will expand inspectors' roles by requiring them to handle mandatory disclosures by contractors of criminal violations and overpayments.

POGO Meets the IGs

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) has some interaction with the Deputy Director of Management and Budget, and Chair of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficience at a recent IG conference. Among the topics discussed: IG independence.

Senate Passes IG Reform Bill

Last week the Senate approved the Inspector General Reform Act of 2007, S 2324. The Washington Post's Government Inc. blog had some thoughts on the bill:

I'm not sure most people understand how close to the center of government IGs operate. They need robust support and plenty of room to dig deep on behalf of taxpayers.

Or, when it comes to contracting, we could allow the companies to police themselves, as some proponents of procurement reform have suggested.

The magic of the market, I think they call it.

POGO Recommendations on IG Reform

The Project on Government Oversight has released a lengthy report with suggestions for reforming Inspector General operations. The recommendations include the following:

Combine the PCIE and ECIE into one Council of all IGs.

Remove the Deputy Director of OMB as the Chair of the combined Council of IGs.

Create a resource pool of professional employees for smaller IG offices.

Extend the language for PCIE IG qualifications to DFE IGs.

Revive the IG candidate selection committee.

Set fixed terms of office for PCIE IGs.

Make clear that an Inspector General may only be removed prior to the end of his or her term for cause.

Establish separate budget authority and transparent public budgets for all IGs.

Clarify the law so that once an IG’s budget has been approved, expenditures can be made without further approval.

Forbid IGs to receive cash awards or bonuses, but raise their pay.

Require IG offices either to have their own counsel or to use another IG’s counsel.

Make clear that IGs should rely on their own in-house counsel for advice about how FOIA applies to IG reports.

Ensure direct and clear links to the IG’s web page, and provide IGs autonomy over the content on the web page.

Expand IGs’ subpoena power.

Amend the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act to apply to DFE IGs.

Refrain for now from consolidating any of the smaller IG offices.

IGs: Cheerleaders or Watchdogs?

USA Today has an article summarizing controversies concerning IGs at several agencies and an update of proposed legislation.

More Controversy Over IGs

A Federal Computer Week story notes:

[Paul] Denett, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, said he believes some IGs are overstepping the boundaries of their statutory role, adding that “they get aggravating sometimes.”

Those comments, which Denett made at a recent industry conference, highlight the growing strained relations between IGs and the agencies they oversee. Auditors and procurement experts say the relationship has become tense at some agencies.

The article contains an observation from Dr. Paul Light, author of a scholarly book on IGs, to the effect that most administrations tend to dislike IGs.

IG Bill Advances

Thanks to John Szabo for the alert to a Government Executive article about the IG bill. It has passed the House and now has been reported out by the Senate Committee.

IGs in the News

A Time magazine story entitled Federal Watchdogs Under Fire surveys a number of recent controversies involving Inspectors General. A Federal Times Op-Ed piece by Department of Energy IG Greg Friedman entitled Inspectors General Safeguard Public Resources provides a different perspective. Government Executive reports that a bill to strengthen IG independence is on the fast track to passage.

Devaney: Accountability Starts At The Top

Earl Devaney, the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior, and Chris Martinez, a member of his staff, have an extremely interesting article entitled "The Buck Stops Here" in The Journal of Public Inquiry. A copy of Devaney's article is attached, while a complete copy of all 8 Mb worth of articles from the Spring/Summer 2007 issue is available at the web site of the President's Council for Integrity and Efficiency.

The thesis is that the key to government integrity is holding senior managers accountable for lapses that occur on their watch, on something close to a strict liability basis. The Introduction summarizes this idea:

By far, the most effective way for government to prevent ethical and legal abuses within its ranks is not to focus myopically on individual instances of wrongdoing as they occur, but to imbue one’s workforce with an affirmative, all-permeating sense of integrity – to shine a light of excellence that dispels the shadows from which malfeasance sprouts. This article is a discussion of quotes from notable historical figures, provisions of law, and other authoritative sources establishing the theoretical basis for holding high level officials accountable for cultures of waste, fraud, abuse, or other indiscretion within their organizations. That is to say, this standard of supervisory responsibility does not depend on whether the official knew or should have known of the bad acts of his or her subordinates, or participated in them to any degree. Instead, it is the high official’s duty to actively prevent, seek out, and eradicate the harmful mentalities that can result in such negligence or misdeeds. Furthermore, because no duty truly exists without a consequence for having failed it, this article also provides a theoretical basis for holding such senior officials to account for their unwillingness or inability to prevent a harmful culture from growing within their organizations.

Feature Article on IGs

A recent Government Executive feature story focused on Inspectors General.

Updated OGE Conference Materials

The 2007 OGE conference is underway. From my perspective, it seems like OGE has done a great planning and organizing job. One example: in an innovative move, OGE distributed USB drives with all the conference handouts--a big improvement over having a set of gigantic paper handouts to lug home. This year OGE also provided a speaker ready room--a nice amenity for the presenters.

A few speakers who had changes to their handouts after the deadline to get them into the OGE USB keys will be using the IEC Journal to distribute the latest versions. Here is the final version of the slide show used for Session 5, "Working With the Inspector General," by Tom Lehrich and Jerry Lawson. It's in PDF format.

Update (March 16): Here are the suggested answers to discussion questions distributed as paper handouts during the same presentation. They are also in PDF format.

Interior IG Testimony Critical of Agency Ethical Culture

The New York Times reported yesterday that Department of the Interior Inspector General Earl E. Devaney in testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee criticized the ethical culture at the U.S. Department of the Interior.  "Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of the Interior," he opined.  He added that the department suffered from a "culture of managerial irresponsibility and lack of accountability," and that "ethics failures on the part of senior department officials--taking the form of appearances of impropriety, favoritism and bias--have been routinely dismissed with a promise 'not to do it again' ".  Mr. Devaney said he was particularly appalled that the Interior Department's Ethics Office dismissed 23 out of 25 potential ethical breaches against Mr. Stephen Griles, a senior Department of Interior official, who was a former lobbyist accused of misusing his office to benefit his former lobbying clients.  Mr. Devaney noted that the remaining two ethics charges against Mr. Griles were dismissed by then Secretary of Interior Gale Norton.  Mr. Griles left the department not charged with any wrongdoing, and he is again a Washington lobbyist.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said he took the IG's allegations "very seriously" and sent out a letter to all Interior employees on his first day as Secretary, urging all Interior employees to follow ethical guidelines.

NIH Scientists Avoid Ethics Punishment by HHS

The Associated Press reported recently that only two of the 44 National Institute of Health (NIH)scientists found to have improperly accepted drug or biotechnology company payments while NIH employees are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for possible criminal activity, and they remain on the NIH payroll pending final disciplinary action.  NIH officials told the Associated Press that while they recommended that eight of the 44 NIH scientists in question be referred by HHS OIG for criminal prosecution, only two cases were recommended by HHS OIG for possible criminal action.  The two NIH scientists referred for possible criminal prosecution, according to NIH released ethics documents, both committed "serious misconduct" so outrageous, that they would normally be discharged for their actions. The remainder of the NIH scientists involved with the improper payments were either allowed to retire without disciplinary action or received internal agency verbal reprimands.

IGs Report Increased Prosecutions, Suspensions, and Debarments

  The President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) released its Report to the President for FY 2005 on August 15, 2006.  The report summarizes the activities of the Inspectors General for Federal agencies.  Suspensions and debarments (9,918) nearly doubled the number from FY 2004.  Successful prosecutions (7,700) increased by 19% from the earlier year, and the 2,800 personnel actions reflected a 40% increase.

  The report and newsrelease may be found at:  http://www.ignet.gov/randp/arpt1.html

IEC Conference Handouts on IG Relations

Handouts from last week's Office of Government Ethics Conference are not yet available at the OGE web site. Here are links to a couple of articles referenced in the session "Relationships Between DAEOs and IGs":

• Earl Devaney, "Stay Off the Warning Track: Ethical Tips for Political Appointees," The Journal of Public Inquiry, (Fall/Winter 2004-5), pages 15-20.
• Maryann Grodin and Sandy Keith, "Statutory and Regulatory Responsibilities: Who Does What, When, and to Whom," The Journal of Public Inquiry (Spring 1996), pages 31-3.