Searching for more Mike Browns
Tags: alleged cronyism, timeTime wants to know: "How Many More Mike Browns are out There?"
They concentrate on three questionable cases:
…Internal e-mail messages obtained by Time show that scientists' drug-safety decisions at the Food and Drug Administration (fda) are being second-guessed by a 33-year-old doctor turned stock picker. At the Office of Management and Budget, an ex-lobbyist with minimal purchasing experience oversaw $300 billion in spending, until his arrest last week. At the Department of Homeland Security, an agency the Administration initially resisted, a well-connected White House aide with minimal experience is poised to take over what many consider the single most crucial post in ensuring that terrorists do not enter the country again. And who is acting as watchdog at every federal agency? A corps of inspectors general who may be increasingly chosen more for their political credentials than their investigative ones…
The last is perhaps the most worrisome; Tom Ridge reportedly tried to make sure the former DHS IG was "his" IG (see Watchdog details confrontations with Ridge).
Back to Time:
…The post-watergate law creating the position of inspector general (IG) states that the federal watchdogs must be hired "without regard to political affiliation," on the basis of their ability in such disciplines as accounting, auditing and investigating. It may not sound like the most exciting job, but the 57 inspectors general in the Federal Government can be the last line of defense against fraud and abuse. Because their primary duty is to ask nosy questions, their independence is crucial. But critics say some of the Bush IGs have been too cozy with the Administration…
