Agency Oversight

  • Current and former officials at the General Services Administration will face a gauntlet of congressional hearings this week, following reports of excessive spending on a 2010 regional training conference and other programs. In an interview on In Depth with Francis Rose, former Virginia Congressman and Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Tom Davis shared his insights and what to look for during the hearings.

    April 15, 2012
  • Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has broadened the scope of Congress' probe into the GSA conference scandal, requesting a list of all overnight conferences attended by more than 50 employees at 23 federal agencies and departments.

    April 13, 2012
  • Internal emails from the General Services Administration show high-level agency officials were aware of a spending problem months before the scandal burst into public view. And as early as last summer, officials disagreed over how to reprimand the employees responsible for excessive spending at a 2010 regional training conference.

    April 13, 2012
  • Allan Roth of CBS MoneyWatch and Federal Times reporters Andy Medici and Steve Losey join host Mike Causey on today's program. April 11, 2012

    April 11, 2012
  • In a letter to employees, Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini and IG Brian Miller asked employees to be more vigilant to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. They said one of the most troubling aspects of the PBS conference incident was no one reported it or took action to stop it.

    April 11, 2012
  • Members of Congress and media watchdogs are thoroughly outraged over GSA's meltdown in the Nevada desert. But those guardians of public morality and safety are also delighted at the foul-up, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. And we love those YouTube videos too.

    April 11, 2012
  • Acting General Services Administration chief Dan Tangherlini said the 'Hats Off' incentive program has been suspended. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who has promised an investigation into agency spending, said she's not sure GSA's actions are enough to change the culture.

    April 10, 2012
  • Doug Holtz-Eakin, the former CBO director, discusses the latest CBO projections for the federal budget deficit.

    April 10, 2012
  • After two weeks of dining on GSA's fiasco in the desert, the fickle American public is looking for some juicy, replacement news, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. It may be something to do with the Kardashians ... or even the Pentagon.

    April 10, 2012
  • David Foley, the deputy Public Buildings Service commissioner, becomes the fourth senior executive at headquarters to feel the aftershocks of the IG's scathing report on excessive spending and waste. Lawmakers have scheduled three hearings next week.

    April 09, 2012
  • As lawmakers gear up for the first of several congressional hearings about the spending scandal at the General Services Administration, District of Columbia delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton told In Depth with Francis Rose that the inspector general and the president have "already cured the problem."

    April 09, 2012
  • The General Accounting Office became the Government Accountability Office in 2004, helping cement an ongoing shift — from strictly financial accounting to broad program evaluations — at the congressional watchdog agency.

    April 09, 2012
  • Federal News Radio set out to find out what it takes to produce a Government Accountability Office report. It turns out, a lot of hard work, a handful of dedicated employees, the patience for hours of painstaking research and maybe even some good old-fashioned detective work.

    April 09, 2012
  • The Government Accountability Office issues hundreds of reports each year detailing billions of dollars in cost-savings. Its role is considered essential to the congressional oversight process. But last year, Congress cut the agency's budget.

    April 09, 2012