Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Is There a RAT in the Stimulus?
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_02_15-2009_02_21.shtml#1235085071
Byron York [1]reports on a brewing controversy over a little-noticed
provision in the stimulus bill to [2]create the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency (RAT) Board. This entity would, among
other things, have some degree of oversight over agency inspectors
general and the Board's chair would be appointed by the President.
According to Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), this provision was
"snuck in" and "strikes at the heart of the independence of inspectors
general.�
What seems to have some upset is that the Board will have authority to
request that "an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting
an audit or investigation." At first blush, this would seem to give
the White House the ability to inhibit IGs from conducting independent
oversight of agency functions. But after looking at the [3]relevant
provision, I am skeptical. Here's the text:
SECTION 1527: INDEPENDENCE OF INSPECTORS GENERAL
(a) Independent Authority- Nothing in this subtitle shall affect
the independent authority of an inspector general to determine
whether to conduct an audit or investigation of covered funds.
(b) Requests by Board- If the Board requests that an inspector
general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or
investigation and the inspector general rejects the request in
whole or in part, the inspector general shall, not later than 30
days after rejecting the request, submit a report to the Board, the
head of the applicable agency, and the congressional committees of
jurisdiction, including the Committees on Appropriations of the
Senate and House of Representatives. The report shall state the
reasons that the inspector general has rejected the request in
whole or in part. The inspector general�s decision shall be final.
It seems to me that this language adequately protects IG independence.
While I suppose some IGs might find it to be a hassle to have to
respond to a Board request, the facts that the IG's decision is
"final" and that the IG's response to any RAT request will be widely
distributed would suggest this provision is as likely to discourage
White House meddling as it is to discourage effective IG oversight.
Moreover, given that the Board will be dominated by IGs from various
departments, I doubt the Board will be subject to much White House
control. So while I am not sure why it was necessary to create the RAT
Board in the first place, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
References
1.
http://www.dcexaminer.com/politics/The-RAT-hiding-deep-inside-the-stimulus-bill-39805642.html
2. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1/text?version=enr&nid=t0:enr:2239
3. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1/text?version=enr&nid=t0:enr:2322
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