Mon, Jan 12, 2009
GAO Report Says He's Just Not Getting The Job Done
A recent 77-page report issued by the Government Accountability
Office reveals that the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration's Inspector General ranked next to last compared to
inspectors in 27 other federal agencies in managing costs and
looking for ways to save taxpayers money.
The Associated Press reports that NASA's inspector general,
Robert "Moose" Cobb, has failed in his role as financial watchdog
for the agency, saving taxpayers only 36 cents for every dollar the
GAO has spent on his department - when others in his role in other
agencies averaged $9.49 saved per dollar spent.
The GAO said that Cobb spent too much time on investigations
irrelevant to saving money, didn't conduct enough audits, and
failed to make recommendations for saving money on those he
did.
Cobb disputed the report, saying the GAO's conclusions were
misrepresented and flawed. Meanwhile, members of congress called
for him to be replaced.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate
Finance Committee, said, "This report confirms that the inspector
general at NASA isn't doing the job for either NASA or the
taxpayers. With the evidence that's piled up about the shortcomings
of this watchdog operation, and given the size of NASA's operation
at $20 billion, it looks like new leadership is needed in the
office of the inspector general."
House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tennessee, said,
"NASA spends billions of dollars with private contractors and how
much money Cobb left on the table due to his failures to manage his
office is hard to imagine. The country can't afford Mr. Cobb."
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