Golden Fleece Awarded To The Bureau of Indian Education for Neglecting School Facilities

The Golden Fleece Award

ARRA News Service: Congressman French Hill (R-AR) named the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Education as the latest winner of the Golden Fleece award for failing to maintain the facilities at Pine Hill Schools in New Mexico despite being given $7.5 million taxpayer dollars for school upkeep.

“I am astounded at the lack of concern demonstrated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE),” said Hill. “For over five years, the BIE shirked their responsibility to protect students from possible harm. They neglected these students by not using the money given to them to maintain the school’s damaged facilities, including the broken fire alarm and suppression systems. This kind of performance from the BIE is unacceptable and must be rectified immediately.”

In the letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Tony L. Dearman, Congressman Hill wrote:
Mr. Tony L. Dearman
Director
Bureau of Indian Affairs
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C St NW
MS-3609-MIB
Washington, DC 20240-0001

Dear Mr. Dearman:

I write to inform you that your agency is this month’s recipient of my Golden Fleece Award. I am awarding this to U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) for what appears to be mismanagement of taxpayer funds in its response to reports of severe safety concerns at school facilities overseen by BIE.

As Congress recently noted in its passage of the Indian Trust Asset Reform Act, "through treaties, statutes, and historical relations with Indian tribes, the United States has undertaken a unique trust responsibility to protect and support Indian tribes and Indians."

First, a June 1, 2018, report from the DOI Office of Inspector General (OIG), found that BIE had failed to maintain the facilities at Pine Hill Schools in Pine Hill, New Mexico, since 2005. Further, an earlier OIG report from 2016 provided twelve recommendations to address the maintenance deficiencies that “exist despite the fact that Pine Hill has received more than $7.5 million in facility-related funding over the last 5 years.” The report also found that “several of these issues could be classified as routine maintenance activities and likely should have been resolved with a cost less than $2,500.” The 2018 OIG report found that significant progress had not been made in rectifying the issues identified in the 2016 report. I find it disturbing that despite two DOI OIG reports highlighting the need for routine maintenance, and after receiving more than $7.5 million to address said maintenance, BIE failed to do so.

Second, since 2014, GAO, in three separate reports, made thirteen recommendations to increase efficient management of BIE schools, and has included BIE and BIA on its High-Risk List since 2017. On June 13, 2018, GAO issued an update to their 2017 High-Risk assessment, expressing concern that BIA “has not provided [GAO] with evidence that it has developed and put in place action plans” for proper allocation and management of funds for school construction and repair per GAO’s 2017 recommendation.

Our federal agencies must be good stewards of our federal taxpayer dollars, and I am committed to ensuring effective practices at our Nation’s federal agencies. Should you require any additional authority from Congress to address these concerns, I urge you to notify us as soon as possible. I thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to working with you to address this important issue.

Sincerely,
French Hill
Member of Congress

CC:
The Honorable Ryan Zinke
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C St NW
Washington, DC 20240About the Golden Fleece Award
Every year, Congress appropriates trillions of dollars to fund the federal government, and every year the federal government wastes portions of these funds in unconscionable ways. As a Member of Congress, and as a taxpayer, this frustrates me to no end. In an attempt to increase accountability for every single government program, Congressman Hill decided to bring back the Golden Fleece Award.

Originally introduced by Democratic U.S. Senator from Wisconsin William Proxmire in March 1975, the Golden Fleece Award was a monthly bulletin on the most frivolous and wasteful uses of hardworking taxpayers’ dollars. The Golden Fleece Award became a staple in the U.S. Senate during this time, and Senator Robert Byrd once stated that the awards were “as much a part of the Senate as quorum calls and filibusters.”

In reviving this idea, the Golden Fleece Award will again have the opportunity to serve as an important reminder to taxpayers about the need for necessary, commonsense reforms to our federal spending.

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Tags: Rep. French Hill, R-AR, awards, July, 2018, Golden Fleece Award, Bureau of Indian Education, Neglecting School Facilities To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!