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Summary

On May 19, we issued our response to a February 10, 2006 request by John Carr, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association that OIG conduct an investigation to determine whether FAA’s communications to Congress and the media concerning legislation introduced by Senator Barak Obama violated the Anti-Lobbying Act and provisions contained in the Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriations Act. Mr. Carr asserted that FAA officials violated the Anti-Lobbying and Appropriations Acts by attempting to gain grassroots opposition to the legislation by sending documents to Congressional offices, posting documents on FAA’s website, and persuading newspaper editorial boards to write articles opposing the legislation. Based on our interviews with FAA officials and employees, and evaluations of FAA documents and electronic records, we did not find any evidence constituting any, potential violation of the Anti-Lobbying Act or the DOT Appropriations Act by FAA officials or employees concerning Senator Obama’s legislation. Accordingly, we found no basis for referral of this matter to DOJ, nor do we believe it warrants further review by the Department's Office of General Counsel.