NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Committee Leaders Commend New Commerce IG for Restoring Whistleblower Jobs

Washington, DC -- Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wrote to Inspector General (IG) Todd J. Zinser, the newly appointed top watchdog for the Department of Commerce, for taking corrective action in favor of two high-ranking employees who were retaliated against for cooperating with the Committee’s investigation.

“The inspector general has done the right thing by reassigning the two whistleblowers that faced wrongful retaliation,” said Dingell. “Mr. Zinser is in the unenviable position of now further restoring a troubled office while also meeting his oversight obligations.”

“The restoration of two whistleblowers to their previous positions is a good start for the new inspector general,” said Stupak. "While we await the findings of two contemporaneous investigations concerning that office, our Subcommittee will continue to monitor Mr. Zinser’s progress in developing and implementing plans that continue to re-establish the Office of Inspector General as an effective and efficient overseer of Department of Commerce programs.”

The Committee launched an investigation in March 2007 to look into numerous allegations surrounding former Commerce Department Inspector General Johnnie Frazier, including travel fraud, contracting irregularities, wasteful expenditures, favoritism, pre-selection of Senior Executive Service candidates, and retaliation against whistleblowers. As a result of the Committee’s investigation and that of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Frazier resigned three months later in June 2007. However, negotiations for corrective relief had stalled in the Office of Inspector General due to a conflict of interest as the then-Acting Inspector General was the subject of allegations that he benefited from Frazier’s illegal acts.

While the Committee has concluded the majority of its investigation into improprieties at the Office of Inspector General, several issues remain. The Committee has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a thorough forensic examination into these outstanding matters. In addition, the Committee is continuing to monitor the progress of multiple pending OSC investigations also relating to Office of Inspector General.

The Committee also asked that Mr. Zinser’s office provide a full, un-redacted set of the outstanding electronic records requested earlier in the investigation.

Read the letter to Inspector General Zinser »

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