Federal investigators who oversee U.S. reconstruction programs in Afghanistan continue to encounter “obstructionism” from government agencies when asked to turn over documents, according to a top federal official.
Gene Aloise, the deputy special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, told a conference for federal inspectors general and their staffs Wednesday that government should operate with a “presumption of openness” in responding to IGs’ information requests.
Referring to President Obama’s January 2009 directive to federal departments and agencies, Aloise said, “we agree entirely with the ‘presumption of openness’ in federal policy that followed the president’s memo. Unless a piece of information is legitimately classified or otherwise restricted, it ought to be available, even if disclosure is not technically required. And, when disclosure is legally required, as by the IG Act, then agency refusal to provide timely access to the data is intolerable.”
SIGAR oversees U.S. reconstruction projects operated by the departments of Defense and State, as well as by the U.S. Agency for International Development, totaling $104 billion. He confided to fellow IG officials that “we have had our own experiences with agency reluctance or obstructionism,” sometimes including “hostile or passive-aggressive responses to legitimate oversight requests.”
The resistance to requests for information “are a threat to our ability to produce thorough, independent, and timely products,” he told the Federal Audit Executive Council annual conference in Alexandria, Va.
Aloise referred to an Aug. 5 letter to congressional leaders that was signed by 47 inspectors general, including SIGAR John Sopko, in which all complained they still face problems when seeking documents from a wide range of federal agencies.
AloiseThe 47 IGs said many federal department and agency heads refuse to heed Obama’s 2009 directive that “government should be transparent” and that “transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their government is doing.” On Aug. 8, a bipartisan letter signed by the leaders of the House and Senate oversight committees expressed “serious concerns” about the obstacles IGs continue to face.
In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan, the lawmakers asked him to “take affirmative steps” to ensure that officials in all departments and agencies cooperate fully with IGs.
That letter was signed by Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform.
