The CIGIE council speaks for that the IG community on issues such as barriers IGs face in receiving information from agency management and operates a central site for reports at oversight.gov. Image: Bendix M / Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffTwo leading House Democrats have added their voices to a call on OMB to restore withheld funding from the central council of agency IGs, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
“OMB is withholding at least $28 million in funding from the Council that Congress has already appropriated and that has been paid into the Inspectors General Council Fund from OIGs across government to assist them in critical oversight functions for the current year,” Reps. Robert Garcia of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland wrote. They are the ranking Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees.
The result is that “not only has the Council been forced to furlough staff and stop their statutorily mandated functions, but also that OMB has intentionally ensured that taxpayer dollars paid into the Fund are being wasted while agencies go unsupervised,” they wrote.
The CIGIE council speaks for that community on issues such as barriers IGs face in receiving information from agency management and operates a central site for reports at oversight.gov. That site, along with individual sites of many agency IGs, has been taken offline since the partial government shutdown started.
The letter is similar to one sent recently by two leading Senate Republicans on civil service and whistleblower protection issues that raised much the same concern regarding funding for the council and a related body, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
The latest letter says the withholding of funds from the IG shows that the administration “is once again attempting to undermine these oversight organizations,” pointing to the firings of some 20 agency IGs earlier this year. “If independent watchdogs are silenced, corruption and violations of the law by federal agencies will go un-investigated and a key safeguard will be eliminated. The consequences for the American people will be serious,” it says.
Large Share of Federal Workforce about to Experience a Payless Pay Period
OPM Details Coverage Changes, Plan Dropouts for FEHB/PSHB in 2026
OMB Says Federal Workforce RIFs are Starting as Shutdown Drags On
Financial Impact of Shutdown Starts to Hit Home; WH Threatens No Back Pay
Surge of Retirement Applications Is in the Pipeline, Says OPM
See also,
TSP Takes Step toward Upcoming In-Plan Roth Conversions
5 Steps to Protect Your Federal Job During the Shutdown
Over 30K TSP Accounts Have Crossed the Million Mark in 2025
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
