From the Times story:
As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct.What's surprising about this is that we've heard nothing from the current administration - not an apology, not a vow to clean up departmental wrongdoings.In three reports delivered to Congress on Wednesday, the department’s inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually and is one of the government’s largest sources of revenue other than taxes.
“A culture of ethical failure” pervades the agency, Mr. Devaney wrote in a cover memo.
Unfortunately, the corruption of the MMS is only one glaring example of a culture of mismanagement and lack of accountability that has permeated the Bush Administration and has thrived under Republican-controlled Congresses. The current Representative of North Carolina's Sixth District has done nothing to promote more oversight, despite his rhetoric about ensuring that government spends wisely and is accountable to the taxpayer.
ReplyDeleteIf I am elected, I will make sure that the GAO conducts a thorough examination if there is any hint of a federal agency being more responsive to the industry it is supposed to regulate than to the public interest. I will also push for legislation to correct any such oversight failures. I believe in a government that spends judiciously and does its job effectively.