Grassley, Coburn Seek Response from 13 Federal Agencies to Reports of Roadblocks to Agency Inspectors General
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Tom Coburn are asking 13 federal agencies to explain why they have posed roadblocks to their agencies’ independent watchdogs, according to the watchdogs.
“Inspectors General can’t conduct effective oversight of tax dollars and programs when the very agencies subject to the oversight impose delays, red tape, and roadblocks,” Grassley said. “To let this continue in the executive branch is letting the fox decide who gets in the henhouse.”
“Good government starts with good oversight. When officials block investigations they do nothing more than protect the people and processes that waste billions of taxpayer dollars every year,” Coburn said. “Inspectors General are the unsung heroes of Washington. Every day they fight battles to save taxpayers money. Officials who would deny them the documents and information they need to prevent waste, fraud and abuse, are doing the American people a great disservice and cannot be called public servants.”
Grassley and Coburn wrote to 69 federal inspectors general in April, asking whether the inspectors general encountered any interference from their agencies, such as blocked access to information or bureaucratic barriers that impede effective investigations. The inspectors general responded with reports of varying degrees of cooperation; 13 inspectors general responded that they have received a lack of full cooperation from their agencies and described specific instances.
Grassley and Coburn wrote to the 13 agencies, seeking an explanation of the reported lack of cooperation and any corrective action. The 13 agencies are: the Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Treasury, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Corporation, Internal Revenue Service, Library of Congress, National Labor Relations Board, Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration.
Grassley is ranking member of the Committee on Finance and has a long history of strengthening the role and independence of inspectors general. Coburn is ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Each federal agency has its own independent inspector general to oversee agency governance and ensure accountability for the spending of tax dollars by conducting investigations and producing analyses of the performance of its functions.
The text of the Commerce Department correspondence is available here.
The text of the Department of Homeland Security correspondence is available here.
The text of the Department of Transportation correspondence is available here.
The text of the Department of Education correspondence is available here.
The text of the Environmental Protection Agency correspondence is available here.
The text of the General Services Administration correspondence is available here.
The text of the Internal Revenue Service correspondence is available here.
The text of the Library of Congress correspondence is available here.
The text of the National Labor Relations Board correspondence is available here.
The text of the Small Business Administration correspondence is available here.
The text of the Social Security Administration correspondence is available here.
The text of the Department of State correspondence is available here.
The text of the Department of the Treasury correspondence is available here.
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