Inspectors General Say Obama Admin Agencies Delaying Investigations And Denying Access To Documents

Obama Administration Delay & Stall Investigations

Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 6, 2014
The Senate is not in session today and will reconvene for a pro forma session on Friday at 9:15 AM. The Senate will return for legislative business on Monday, September 8th.

The House is on their August "District Work Sessions." Repeating yesterdays's comment: Hope most readers have an opportunity to contact and discuss issues with their Congressional Representative. As most of them are also running again for office and will be looking for votes and money. So, give them your two-cents worth as well.

The AP reports, “Independent watchdogs of dozens of federal agencies decried on Tuesday what they said were Obama administration efforts to delay or stall their investigations. A letter to Congress from a broad cross-section of inspectors general cites specific instances in which watchdogs for the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency and the Peace Corps said they were denied timely access to documents and other information while doing their investigations. The letter says other inspectors general have faced similar obstacles, and that congressional action may be needed to ensure cooperation from government agencies.”

Politico writes, “A group of 47 official federal agency watchdogs sent a rare joint letter to Congress Tuesday complaining that management at some agencies have delayed or denied access to government records that the watchdogs believe they are legally entitled to see on demand. In the letter to the bipartisan leadership of major committees across Capitol Hill, the inspectors general complain that the access issues have impeded investigations and threaten the ability of the fraud-waste-and-abuse hunters to do their work. ‘Refusing, restricting, or delaying an Inspector General’s access to documents leads to incomplete, inaccurate, or significantly delayed findings or recommendations, which in turn may prevent the agency from promptly correcting serious problems and deprive Congress of timely information regarding the agency’s performance,’ the IGs wrote in their letter. The watchdogs complain that some agencies, in particular the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department, and the Peace Corps, have given a narrow reading to the 1978 law that created the inspector general mechanism. The interpretation of those agencies has allowed management to delay or prevent access to agency records sought by IGs, the letter says.”

According to the AP, “The letter says the Peace Corps did not provide full access to records during an inspector general investigation into the handling of reports of sex assaults against volunteers. . . . The letter also faults the Justice Department for initially withholding documents in three different reviews, and says that when the records were ultimately provided, it was ‘based on a finding that the three reviews were of assistance’ to department leadership rather than out of respect for the inspector general's independence.”

In their letter, the IGs wrote, “These restrictive readings of the IG Act represent potentially serious challenges to the authority of every Inspector General and our ability to conduct our work thoroughly, independently, and in a timely manner. . . . Even when we are ultimately able to resolve these issues with senior agency leadership, the process is often lengthy, delays our work, and diverts time and attention from substantive oversight activities. This plainly is not what Congress intended when it passed the IG Act.”

Politico adds, “The letter was made public by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who said he was troubled by the problems the IGs were facing. ‘This is an Administration that pledged to be the most transparent in history. Yet, these non-partisan, independent agency watchdogs say they are getting stonewalled.  How are the watchdogs supposed to be able to do their jobs without agency cooperation?,’ Grassley asked in a statement. ‘I’ll continue working with the committees of jurisdiction to fix the access problems, through oversight and possibly legislation.’”

Inspectors General have been crucial in investigating and exposing some of the worst problems of this administration, such as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report that helped reveal the improper targeting of conservative nonprofits by the IRS, the Veterans Affairs IG looking into the scandalous behavior involving wait lists at VA clinics, and of course the IG at Health and Human Services finding all sorts of problems with Obamacare, most recently the agency’s inability to ensure safeguards are in place to protect taxpayers by preventing the payment of improper Obamacare subsidies.

So, as Sen. Grassley says, the news from IGs that they’re being stonewalled is particularly troubling.

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