All members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee have co-signed a letter to President Obama urging him to fill vacancies in IG positions, saying there currently are seven openings among presidential-level appointments and another three vacancies of agency-appointed IGs.
“As you know, the absence of permanent, Senate-confirmed or agency-appointed IGs in these positions impedes the ability of these offices to identify and expose waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. In addition, acting IGs in these roles create the potential for conflicts of interest, diminish independent IG oversight, and cause instability for IG offices,” it said.
Major agencies without permanent IGs include Interior, AID, FDIC, VA, GSA and the CIA, it said.
According to the committee, Interior has not had a permanent IG for six years and the VA for more than a year.
