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FederalDaily - June 14, 2006

IRS and Treasury Not Effectively Handling Whistleblowers

The Department of Treasury and the IRS do not effectively manage and utilize whistleblower information, a senator stated last week. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa—chairman of the Senate Finance Committee—referenced a recent audit report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which cited Treasury and the IRS for lacking a suitable program to reward whistleblowing. “…Even though Congress gave Treasury and the IRS the tools, in terms of broad legal authority to reward whistleblowers, the IRS hasn’t gotten the job done,” Grassley said. Without such a program or office, Grassley stated, the IRS will have a more difficult time cracking down on tax cheats. The senator said he would discuss the issue with the Treasury secretary to ensure that the IRS would no longer treat whistleblowers “like skunks at the picnic.”

GAO Update on FBI Contract Problems

The FBI has addressed, but not fully resolved, internal contractor management deficiencies, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) representative testified last Friday at a congressional hearing that focused on the bureau’s Trilogy project. The purpose of the project is to upgrade the FBI’s information technology. Back in March, GAO reported that the FBI may have wasted millions of dollars by issuing improper contractor payments on the project and failing to keep track of computer assets and equipment. Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, GAO recently noted that the FBI was taking steps to improve invoice and asset tracking. However, GAO warned that current FBI technology projects could be at risk until a follow-up audit confirms that the problems have been addressed. The FBI claimed to have located 800 of the 1,205 pieces of missing equipment, but GAO felt that the bureau had not submitted sufficient evidence to confirm that the items were actually found.

Pay Attention to Pay Slip

The Department of Defense (DoD) will inform servicemembers who could be affected by the May theft of personal data from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through their monthly pay statements, a DoD spokesman said on June 12. DoD is in the middle of an analysis to determine how many active duty, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers could be affected by the data loss, Army Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin said. When the analysis is completed in upcoming weeks, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will inform those servicemembers who are determined to be vulnerable by putting a note on the bottom of their monthly leave and earnings statements. The VA has set up a special Web site and a toll-free telephone number for those possibly affected by the data loss: www.firstgov.gov and (800) FED-INFO (800-333-4636).

More Personal Data Stolen

Monday, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Yakima, Wash., police had found a 10-year-old list with the personal information of 4,000 employees transferring from a former contractor to Fluor Hanford (a DOE contractor), according to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. This report came less than a week after news that a hacker stole an electronic file containing the names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and security clearance levels of 1,500 DOE contractor employees working for the National Nuclear Security Administration in September 2005. “Today’s news that the personal information of 4,000 Hanford workers has been floating around in the open shows that we still have a long way to go when it comes to keeping sensitive information out of the wrong hands,” said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Energy Committee. In June 12 letters sent to DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Energy Committee, Cantwell called for a hearing on the recent DOE security breaches.