Support the Office of Inspector Generals

I am writing to express my strong support for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in executive branch agencies for four reasons: First, OIGs are smart investments in good government: According to the Brookings Institute, almost every federal OIG has a positive return on investment (ROI) https://www.brookings.edu/articles/political-appointees-as-barriers-to-government-efficiency-and-effectiveness/. Second, political influence in a federal agency is associated with decreased effectiveness of the agency’s OIG. As shown by Hudak and Young, no matter what measure of political influence was used, politicization negatively impacts an OIG’s ROI. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/oig_revised.pdf Third, the strongest negative effect comes from the presence of Senate-confirmed appointees—appointees who tend to be the closest with the president and are among the most political. Agencies with a higher number of these officials see the most drastic decrease in OIG effectiveness. Fourth, the influence of political appointees is enhanced in small OIGs; those offices that are understaffed relative to the size of their agency. The negative impact of Senate-confirmed appointees on Inspector General (IG) effectiveness is more than four times greater in understaffed OIGs than in well-staffed ones. I respectfully urge you to: 1. Investigate the firings of Inspector Generals: In January, the president fired 17 IGs. I urge you to hold hearings to determine the impact of this action on the agencies involved. 2. Advocate for the Office of Inspector General to support their work in increasing efficiency and preventing corruption in executive branch agencies. 3. Support legislative measures to prevent the politization of appointees in the executive branch, including opposing the Schedule F program of turning agency jobs into patronage jobs. As your constituent, I am deeply concerned about the precedent set by the firing of the Inspector Generals, especially given the corruption and inefficiency manifest in the current administration.