[ExI] NASA Inspector General under fire

[John Grigg]

Members of congress are complaining the guy is more of a lapdog than a
watchdog, and with NASA getting more money under the Obama administration,
they want him replaced.

"arrest/search warrants were obtained for NASA facilities. Mr. Cobb would
question every aspect of the cases and gave the appearance he wanted to
derail them before agents were given adequate time to investigate the
allegations."

I never imagined NCIS style law enforcement investigators being a
self-policing department within NASA.  Is this true?  I guess I envisioned
NASA employees as always behaving nobly as they expanded humanity's reach
into outer space.

John

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/11/siu.nasa.watchdog/?iref=mpstoryview

By Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost
CNN Special Investigations Unit

*WASHINGTON (CNN)* -- Key members of Congress from both parties want NASA's
internal watchdog fired, arguing he can't be trusted to oversee the $1
billion in additional money the space agency is getting under the Obama
administration's economic stimulus package.
[image: Lawmakers say NASA's inspector general cannot be trusted and must
go.]

Lawmakers say NASA's inspector general cannot be trusted and must go.

Government reports dating back to 2006 have accused NASA Inspector General
Robert "Moose" Cobb of ineffectiveness, of profanely berating employees and
being too close to the agency's leadership. Calls for his ouster have
intensified in the past month, since NASA is getting additional stimulus
money for space exploration, research, and aeronautics.

"Apparently, Mr. Cobb thought he was supposed to be the lap dog, rather than
the watchdog, of NASA," Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tennessee, told CNN.

Gordon, chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, has asked
President Obama to remove Cobb. In a letter co-authored by Rep. Brad Miller,
D-North Carolina, who leads the House Subcommittee on Investigations and
Oversight, the lawmakers argue that "NASA cannot afford another four years
with an ineffective inspector general." [image: Video] Watch NASA watchdog
under fire »<http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/11/siu.nasa.watchdog/?iref=mpstoryview#cnnSTCVideo>

"It's incredibly ironic for members of Congress who have scolded the
inspector general for lousy oversight to dump a billion dollars into the
agency," said Pete Sepp, vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, a
nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group that monitors government spending.
"The first thing you do when you're digging a hole is to stop digging.
Congress doesn't seem to get that message."

Cobb declined two requests from CNN to respond to the complaints.

In December 2008, the Government Accountability Office released a report
that criticized how Cobb was running the inspector general's office. The
GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, "found that Mr. Cobb is one of the
least productive IGs in the federal government," Gordon and Miller wrote.
Don't Miss

   - GAO full report on auditing NASA<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0988.pdf>
   - NASA delays launch of shuttle
Discovery<http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/02/04/shuttle.discovery.delay/index.html#cnnSTCText>
   - Behind the scenes at Kennedy Space
Center<http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/03/11/kennedy.space.center/index.html>

 "His monetary accomplishments reflect a return of just 36 cents for every
dollar budgeted for his office. This compares with an average of $9.49
returned for every dollar spent on other IGs' offices. The main reason for
this failure is that NASA's audit operation is not working."

Gordon told CNN that Cobb's "own peers said he wasn't doing his job, that he
didn't understand the audit process and that he was not carrying out the
investigation process. As a matter of fact, he was slowing it down, or even
stopping it."

And Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance
Committee, agreed that Cobb must be replaced.

"Inspectors general are the first line of defense against the waste of
taxpayers' money," Grassley told CNN. "And, if he's not doing his job, and
you stick another billion dollars into it, then you just know there's
another billion dollars that there could be a lot of waste of it."

A 2006 investigation by a presidential integrity council found Cobb "engaged
in abuse of authority" and had a "close relationship" with former NASA
Administrator Sean O'Keefe that "compromised" his independence. The two
played golf together and took official trips together on NASA aircraft. Read
investigative integrity report (Warning: Report contains explicit
language)<http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/11/integrity.committee.report.pdf>

The committee also found that Cobb "engaged in an abuse of authority"
through his "habitual use of profanity," and recommended disciplinary action
"up to and including removal," Gordon and Miller wrote.

Cobb defended himself at a 2007 congressional hearing, arguing that he had
upheld his oath of office.

"At NASA, I have taken the responsibilities of office under the Inspector
General Act seriously and without compromise to root out and prevent fraud,
waste and abuse, and to promote the economy and efficiency of the agency,"
he said. "I've worked with NASA management in the manner contemplated by the
Inspector General Act."

But former staffers told the committee that Cobb created a disturbing work
environment.

"One of my early experiences with Mr. Cobb was so disturbing that I
considered leaving the OIG almost immediately afterwards," said Debra
Herzog, former deputy assistant inspector-general for investigations.

"At a scheduled weekly meeting, Mr. Cobb, in front of his deputy and my
supervisor, berated me concerning a word in a letter. In an ensuing
monologue, loudly peppered with profanities, Mr. Cobb insulted and ridiculed
me," Herzog recounted.

Lance Carrington, the former assistant inspector general for investigations,
told the panel that "in many investigative cases, Mr. Cobb appeared to have
a lack of independence when NASA officials were subjects, or if
arrest/search warrants were obtained for NASA facilities. Mr. Cobb would
question every aspect of the cases and gave the appearance he wanted to
derail them before agents were given adequate time to investigate the
allegations."
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