"Although the withholding of funding coincides with an ongoing shutdown, it is unrelated - the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, or CIGIE, is supported by a no-year revolving fund, rather than annual appropriations. The Office of Management and Budget chose not to apportion the funding to the council after calling inspectors general "corrupt" and "partisan" two weeks ago. Lawmakers, former watchdog officials and others have criticized the decision."
"When CIGIE lost its funding, its oversight.gov website - with a central repository of over 34,000 oversight reports - went dark. That platform also hosts the websites of another 28 offices of inspectors general. At least 15 of those sites went dark as well, taking access to audits, oversight reports and resources for whistleblowers wanting to report waste, fraud and abuse down, too."
"It's the latest move against the OIG community by the Trump administration, which also fired nearly 20 inspectors general in a move that a federal judge has since said was an "obvious" violation of the law. CIGIE is an independent entity charged by Congress with oversight issues that involve more than one government agency. It offers training for investigators and auditors and acts as a watchdog for the government OIG community."
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee launched a centralized online repository of resources for whistleblowers after many watchdog websites went dark due to the White House budget office withholding funding from a central inspector general group. The withholding is unrelated to the shutdown because CIGIE is supported by a no-year revolving fund rather than annual appropriations. The Office of Management and Budget declined to apportion the funding after accusing inspectors general of being "corrupt" and "partisan," prompting criticism. CIGIE provides cross-agency oversight, training, and a central repository; its oversight.gov site with over 34,000 reports went dark, reducing public access to audits and whistleblower reporting resources.
Read at Nextgov.com
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