Federal OIGs catch thousands of wrongdoers, find billions in potential savings, according to…
Thursday, October 29th, 2009…well, according to the OIGs. But a recent report on behalf of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) makes a persuasive case for the argument that resources invested in the 69 federal Offices of Inspector General earn a solid return for taxpayers.
The Inspector General community’s annual report (pdf, 3.3mb), prepared for the CIGIE by the OIGs of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Communications Commission, provided this summary of the work of the OIGs in fiscal year 2008:
$14.2 billion in potential savings from audit recommendations;
$4.4 billion in potential savings from investigative receivables and recoveries;
6,647 indictments and criminal informations;
6,866 successful prosecutions;
1,206 successful civil actions;
4,986 suspensions or debarments;
5,712 personnel actions;
337,916 hotline complaints processed;
6,935 audit, inspection, and evaluation reports issued; and
32,143 investigations closed
The CIGIE was established by the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, which also strengthened the independence of the OIGs and set rules on compensation and transparency. The Global Legal Information Network, provided by the Law Library of Congress, has posted a summary of the law’s provisions.