Watching the watchdogs

Friday, Jan. 18, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Inspectors general have saved taxpayers billions of dollars over the past few decades as government watchdogs rooting out waste, wrongdoing and corruption. But they are increasingly finding themselves under political pressure from the Bush administration, compromising what independence they have to point out problems.

U.S. News & World Report notes that 60 percent of the inspectors general appointed by President Bush had political experience such as serving in a Republican White House, and only 20 percent had auditing experience. More than 60 percent of the inspectors general under President Clinton had auditing experience, and fewer than 25 percent had political experience.

That has led to foreseeable consequences. For example, the inspectors general of NASA and the State Department have been accused of stopping or slowing investigations that might be damning to the Bush administration.

The CIA is investigating the conduct of its inspector general, an effort critics say is intended to silence the watchdog, and the Smithsonian Institution’s inspector general found her budget cut after launching an audit that disclosed excessive spending by the institution’s leaders.

The Senate is working on a bill to address some of the problems. A council would be created in which whistleblowers and others could complain about such problems, but that is not enough. The law that governs inspectors general should be strengthened to increase the buffer between politics and the operations of their offices.

Inspectors general are an important part of good government, but they cannot do their part in the current political climate.