NCJ Number
84183
Date Published
1980
Length
70 pages
Annotation
Representatives from Government agencies and executive departments testified before a Senate subcommittee on extending the Inspector General Act of 1978 to the Departments of Justice, Treasury, and State as well as the International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) and the Agency for International Development (AID).
Abstract
The chairman of another subcommittee concerned with waste and fraud in Government summarized his efforts to enact legislation upgrading the authority of the Office of Professional Responsibility within the Department of Justice (DOJ) and create a separate office of audits within that agency. A representative from the General Accounting Office testified in favor of the proposed bill, although he suggested changing the title to Auditor and Inspector General. He then reviewed current auditing and investigative activities in the agencies impacted by extending the Inspector General Act, suggesting that action regarding the IDCA be delayed because it is still experiencing startup problems. A Department of the Treasury (DOT) official detailed its audit and investigative activities and cited support for the legislation although he felt that the DOT's current organization was effective. Witnesses from the Department of State and AID expressed no basic objections to the bill, but suggested some language changes to accommodate these agencies' particular needs. They also highlighted both departments' efforts to upgrade auditing and investigative procedures. The final witness reviewed the concerns of the IDCA, the policy formulation agency for foreign aid programs, with attention to locating its Inspector General administratively in AID. The text of S.3025 is appended.