Thursday, May 8, 2014

EPA Blocks Accountability

It seems the IRS is not the only agency that has gone rogue under Obama's watch.

EPA accused of tolerating rampant employee misconduct, obstructing probes
The EPA was accused Wednesday of tolerating waste, fraud and "criminal conduct" in its own ranks, as a House committee hearing aired allegations of employee misconduct that have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The inspector general's office -- the official watchdog tasked with overseeing the agency -- also claims it's being blocked from doing its job by a unit within the EPA.
"I'm very concerned that vital information regarding suspected employee misconduct is being withheld from the OIG," Patrick Sullivan, assistant inspector general, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
"This is truly a broken agency," committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said, adding that the employee problems have gotten to the point of being "intolerable."
The committee revealed several startling allegations and cases shared by the inspector general's office. In one case, an employee was getting paid for one or two years after moving to a retirement home, where the employee allegedly did not work. When an investigation began, the worker was simply placed on sick leave.
In another case, an employee with multiple-sclerosis was allowed to work at home for the last 20 years. However, for the past five years, she allegedly produced no work -- though she was paid roughly $600,000. She retired after an investigation.
In yet another case, an employee was accused of viewing pornography for two-to-six hours a day since 2010. An IG probe found the worker had 7,000 pornographic files on his EPA computer.
At the hearing, Sullivan detailed specific concerns with the agency's little-known Office of Homeland Security.
The office of about 10 employees is overseen by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy's office, and the inspector general's office is accusing it of operating illegally as a "rogue law enforcement agency" that has impeded independent investigations into employee misconduct, computer security and external threats, including compelling employees involved in cases to sign non-disclosure agreements.~snip~
This is the kind of stuff you get when entrenched civil servants who allowed,for decades, the infestation of far left progressives into government employment. These agencies are loaded with "Lois Lerner" types who stick their noses into the air and arrogantly sniff their noses at the taxpayers.
Now that they have a fellow traveler in the White House they can evade accountability for their actions.

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