OMB Staffer Faces Discipline Over Intimidation Charges
By Tom Shoop
Remember the allegations back in January that an Office of Management and Budget employee had threatened "to make life miserable" for an official at the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general office if the IG complained to Congress about his budget? OMB Director Peter Orszag promised an expedited review of the charges, and he has delivered.
The Washington Post's Federal Eye reports that Orszag told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday that the OMB employee, a career staffer, will soon face disciplinary action.
Threats of budgetary retaliation are "unacceptable at OMB," Orszag said. But he added that the incident appears to be isolated.
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Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop, along with other editors and staff correspondents, take a fresh look at news affecting the management and operations of the federal bureaucracy.
Bet that the employee will be sent home for a week, but still drawing full pay
dan ketter Posted Monday, March 8, 2010 6:44 PMOPM's IG has been a largely incompetent, useless, deceiptful, and corrupt operation for twenty years. No OMB intimidation of IG Mcfarland, his senior audit staff, or his OPM senior management consorts could be severe enough. This IG office has routinely committed operating fraud and deliberately violated federal hiring law in which OPM was always complicit. This cozy arrangement is why OPM remains a perpetual disgrace to the concept of public service and why minimal oversight to prevent gross fraud in a 60 billion per year govt. health program is virtually non-existant. OMB should have long ago recommended to the President that IG McFarland be fired. Other senior IG managers, including the Dep. IG, should be investigated for hapless misfeasance and criminal malfeasance. Orszag is poorly informed and should be ashamed.
Ken Huffman Posted Monday, March 8, 2010 7:10 PMThe program examiner divisions of OMB could be eliminated without any ill effect on the operation of the federal government. The allegations, if accurate, reflect an approach which is the norm, not the exception. The examiners believe that an excess of "attitude" can make up for a lack of experience.
Craigie Posted Wednesday, March 17, 2010 7:32 AM