FederalDaily - October 21, 2005
OSC Leader Investigated by OPM
Chair of the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE),
Clay Johnson III, has referred a complaint against Special Counsel Scott J.
Bloch to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Inspector General Patrick E.
McFarland for investigation and action. According to Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility, in March, Office of Special Counsel staff members and a coalition
of whistleblower protection and civil rights organizations filed a complaint
against Bloch alleging illegal gag orders, cronyism, invidious discrimination
and retaliation. McFarland has agreed to conduct an investigation and report
his findings along with recommended remedial actions, if appropriate, to OPM
Director Linda M. Springer and Deputy Special Counsel Jim Renne.
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FEMA Struggles Managing Flood Insurance Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not been completely successful
in its oversight and management of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP),
according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Specifically, FEMA
has not yet fully implemented provisions of the Flood Insurance Reform Act
of 2004. Requirements under the act include providing policyholders with a
flood insurance claims handbook that meets requirements, establishing a regulatory
appeals process and ensuring that insurance agents meet minimum NFIP education
and training requirements. The statutory deadline for implementing these changes
was Dec. 30, 2004 . To meet its monitoring and oversight responsibilities,
FEMA is to conduct periodic operational reviews of the 95 private insurance
companies that participate in the NFIP. GAO said FEMA did not use a statistically
valid method for sampling files to be reviewed in these monitoring and oversight
activities.
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Army Investigates Burning of Enemy Bodies
The Army Criminal Investigation Division said it has initiated an investigation
into alleged misconduct by U.S. servicemembers, including the burning of dead
enemy combatant bodies under inappropriate circumstances. "If the allegation
is substantiated, the appropriate course of action under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice and corrective action will be taken," said Maj. Gen.
Jason Kamiya, Combined Joint Task Force-76 commander. He added, "This
command does not condone the mistreatment of enemy combatants or the desecration
of their religious and cultural beliefs." U.S. Central Command said that
recent media reports out of Afghanistan have alleged that U.S. forces were
involved in an incident involving the desecration of the bodies of deceased
enemy combatants.
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Former Naval Officer Illegally Exported Aircraft
Parts
A former Naval intelligence officer from Escondido, Calif., pleaded guilty
to three counts of illegally exporting military aircraft parts, according to
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). George Charles Budenz II, 60, a
retired Navy commander, faces more than six years in prison after admitting
that he illegally exported engine parts for the U.S. F-5 fighter jet, the T-38
military trainer jet, and Chinook military helicopters to Malaysia and Belgium.
According to ICE, Budenz said he made the illegal exports at the direction
of Arif Ali Durrani, 56, a Pakistani national convicted in 1987 of exporting
missile guidance systems to Iran. Budenz agreed to serve as Durrani's agent
in the U.S., helping him locate, purchase and ship aircraft parts. When investigators
searched Budenz's Escondido home earlier this year, they found documents related
to parts orders.
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