Ohio Gov. John Kasich is often mentioned as a potential 2016 Republican presidential hopeful, but there could be an unexpected roadblock for him, a new Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report said.
“Although Ohio took steps in recent years to improve its management of funds awarded under the Homeland Security Grant Program, [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] cannot be assured that Ohio effectively managed grant funds from fiscal years 2010 through 2012,” the IG said in a report made public Nov. 18, 2014.
“Specifically, Ohio needs to improve its performance measures, the accounting for grant funds, the timeliness of releasing funds to subgrantees, and its monitoring of subgrantees, including their procurement and property management practices,” the IG said.
Kasich was first elected to Ohio’s governorship in 2010 after representing the state’s 10th congressional district as a Republican from 1983 to 2001. He was elected to a second term as governor in 2014.
Kasich inherited the problems identified in two previous audits by the DHS IG with Ohio’s management of FEMA grants. Despite the previous audits, “Ohio continues to disregard some federal regulations and grant guidance.”
As a result, the IG said, “the state may be limited in its ability to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade disasters.”
The amounts of federal funding at stake are significant, totaling $61.6 million for the years beginning in 2010.
Kasich has touted his budget and management reforms as government, but the IG report on the state’s management of FEMA funds focused heavily on the lack of concrete performance measures.
“Without objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-limited, it is difficult for Ohio to measure and report on improvements in preparedness and evaluate progress toward achieving the objectives,” the IG said.
“The objectives’ shortcomings also prevent Ohio from identifying baselines from which to measure and adequately assess improvement to determine future funding needs.”
The Columbus Dispatch said Saturday that “for months, pundits and politicos have been speculating about Gov. John Kasich’s potential as a presidential candidate in 2016. Yesterday, he may have kicked that talk up a notch or two.”
Kasich was in Florida for the Republican Governors Association meeting where he spoke on a panel and defended his expansion of the Ohio Medicaid program and its adoption of the federal Common Core standards for public schools.
