CONGRESSMAN JOHN CONYERS AND SENATOR GRASSLEY QUESTION NEW PRACTICE DENYING RECORDS TO DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL

WASHINGTON – House and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. and Chuck Grassley are raising questions about a new practice by the Justice Department denying certain records to the department’s Inspector General. 

During testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in September, the Inspector General for the Department of Justice, Michael Horowitz, raised concerns about the FBI’s refusal to provide certain documents, such as grand jury records and material witness warrant information.  The Inspector General sought these records to determine whether the Department had violated the civil liberties and civil rights of individuals detained in national security investigations following September 11.  In addition, the Inspector General also sought records as part of the review of Operation Fast and Furious.  The Department’s refusal to provide records immediately as required by law wastes months in bureaucratic roadblocks and frustrates the independent oversight Congress created Inspectors General to provide.  Prior to 2010, the FBI and other agencies in the Justice Department routinely provided similar information to the Inspector General’s office.

Conyers and Grassley, who both voted for the original Inspector General Act, wrote in a letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Karl Thompson, “In order to carry out audits and investigations with the independence mandated by the (Inspector General) Act, Inspectors General must have unfettered access to records of the Departments they oversee.”

Conyers and Grassley acknowledged that an Inspector General inquiry can be prevented under the law in certain limited circumstances, but they emphasized in their letter that the Attorney General is required to explain in writing to both the Inspector General and Congress why the Inspector General’s work should be impeded despite the Inspector General Act’s guarantee of access to all agency records. 

“The current practice is the opposite of the procedure dictated by the statute and unnecessarily delays the work of the Inspector General.  More importantly, it circumvents the oversight authority with regard to such disputes, which Congress explicitly reserved for itself through the reporting requirement,” Conyers and Grassley wrote.

CONGRESSMAN JOHN CONYERS AND SENATOR GRASSLEY LETTER TO QUESTION NEW PRACTICE DENYING RECORDS TO DOJ INSPEC...

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Detroit Charter Misses Out On Financial Oversight Opportunity

I seem to recall an item I worked on during the City Charter revision process which called for an Inspector General.  As the Charter has recently been passed by the vote, it would seem there should be option for the Inspector General to admiral some of the tasks of weeding out fraud, waste and abuse within departments, programs and contracts.  No one would listen to me, as usual.

See, the archaic Ombudsman is the only department other than Corporate Council who has powers of subpoena, which have never been used, seriously.  The Ombudsman ensconces individual report findings into aggregate data and dumps it on City Council in annual reports, so nothing ever gets fixed.  The office only reports on what it supposedly does to keep its out-dated paychecks a-coming.

Then, if City Council is to now go to Council by District, there busts another illogical fallacy to keep the Ombudsman.

I raise the Ombudsman because the Inspector General has no powers of subpoena, further limiting it potential.

In addition, it was never considered that the Inspector General could privately contract for investigation,which would entail appointment for special powers of subpoena.

Lastly, there was no referral mechanism for the Inspector General to report violations of law to Corporate Council for prosecution and recovery. Another missed opportunity for oversight.

Unfortunately, a great opportunity has been lost in the Inspector General because this would have strengthened the argument against the Emergency Manager.  It would have been one of those "why re-invent the wheel" contentions.

Oh well.  Now we have the same folks overseeing the same mismanagement. Just wait, there is more.
 Keep looking into the dark cavern of child welfare.  This is why I proposed getting the language of "children are our most precious treasures" put into the preamble of the Detroit City Charter.  It passed.

"Children are our most precious treasures" is code for posterity, future interests, economic stabalization, and it circumvents the FOIA exemptions and exclusions for audits and continuous quality improvements in program quality and delivery of services.

One of these days someone is going to listen and heed my advice.

Funding at risk for Detroit's social services

Detroit— The city is managing federal funding so poorly that it's risking future dollars for social service programs intended to help disadvantaged residents, officials examining Detroit's finances say.
State officials found numerous cases of misspending on salaries and other expenditures in the administration of Head Start, Women, Infants and Children nutrition support, home weatherization and other programs, according to the state's preliminary review of the city's finances.
That puts the city in a vulnerable spot as it seeks to convince state officials that it can handle its fiscal crisis without outside intervention. If Gov. Rick Snyder determines the city requires the oversight of an emergency manager, that person could bar the city from administering federal funds and instead give the job to Wayne County or a private company.

Michigan Senate To Take On Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare

Michigan Representatives Genetski, Franz, Zorn, Agema, Price, Nesbitt, Horn, Lori, MacGregor, Damrow, Haugh and McMillin have introduced an amazing bill to address, for the first time in Michigan, Medicaid fraud in child welfare, to create a state Medicaid Inspector General Office to investigate waste fraud and abuse in the distribution of low income government health care benefits, subsidies and provider reimbursements.

Thank you for listening and a special thanks to Representative Agema!!  Put my name down as the first candidate for the position.

I have a sneaky suspicion Maura Corrigan is not very thrilled with this.  Someone should ask her.  Looking forward to the interview.

Michigan House Bill 5048 To Investigate Medicaid Fraud

Michigan Senate Bill 598 To Create Medicaid Fraud Inspector General