Management of federal agencies continues to be less than fully responsive to inquiries from IGs that fall within the authority of the IG law, several IGs said at a recent House hearing.
The hearing was the latest follow-up to an unusual letter sent last summer to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee complaining of lack of cooperation; the hearing involved the IGs of Justice, EPA and the Peace Corps, all of whom said they have been thwarted by actions by management to declare certain information off-limits on questionable grounds of attorney-client privilege, intelligence implications or privacy considerations.
In addition, they said, agencies sometimes let employees get away with refusing to cooperate with investigators in certain situations even though the law requires cooperation.
Justice Department IG Michael Horowitz, recently installed as the chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency—essentially making him the head IG government-wide—also suggested changes in the law to strengthen their capabilities. These include having authority to compel testimony from former agency employees, contractors, and grant recipients, in addition to the current authority to subpoena documents from them.
He also said there are problems with IGs obtaining relevant data from an agency other than their own and to share that information with each other.
The hearing information is here: http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/inspectors-general-independence-access-authority-2/
