Department of Commerce OIG Response to POGO 2/19/2020 Commerce OIG is unique. It has had more than its share of troubles for the last 30 years. The three previous IGs before current IG Peg Gustafson all left amid serious scandals. All of this had an effect on the workforce and the culture of the agency. It takes time to undo the negative and build for the future. IG Gustafson: “The good news story here that deserves to be told is that Commerce OIG is well on its way. There are employees present at every level and in every office of the agency that are fully committed to making it one of the best places to work in the federal government. Wholesale cultural change takes years to accomplish, but this place is now firmly on its way. There are very talented and experienced new employees coming on board each month. When combined with many current employees who are putting their hearts and souls into this rebuilding, it is an exciting time to be part of Commerce OIG.” IG Gustafson: “I feel very positive about the current trajectory of the Commerce OIG. Among the recent positive developments are a new Deputy IG, new CIO, new CFO, new Director of HR, new Assistant IG for Investigations, a new Director of Cybersecurity Audits, a new emphasis on open communication and fairness, an expanded data analytics team, more than 40 active prosecutions resulting from OIG investigations, a rebuilt team of auditors focused on USPTO, award-winning oversight of NOAA satellite operations, redesigned business processes, improving management practices, an engagement with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to go even deeper into FEVS scores, updated policies facilitating worklife balance, extremely efficient budget execution, a new, well-received employee recognition program. The list goes on and on.” The Commerce OIG supports whistleblowers, and has cooperated fully with the Senate inquiry. In two productions, including a second response after the committees’ follow-up letter in December, the OIG has provided 8 pages of narrative response with more than 560 pages of responsive attachments. In addition, the IG herself recently briefed committee staff, in person, for more than two hours. Notably, there are no current outstanding requests to the OIG from any of the committees. IG Gustafson: “Despite the fact that the OIG has fully complied with the committees’ requests, the committees have now set their sights on career federal employees, including administrative assistants. Targeting career civil servants, who are always free to speak to the Committee, and have been aware of the inquiry since at least the publication of the first letter in September, is heavy-handed and irregular. Notably, unlike my predecessors, I have not been accused of any wrongdoing or impropriety. But despite this, the Committee persists in what appears to be a targeted campaign against me, which now includes going after not just my senior leadership, but also rank-and-file administrative assistants. Not only does this distract from the OIG’s mission, but it appears calculated to be more disruptive than helpful, and to prolong the inquiry.” Department of Commerce OIG Response to POGO 2/19/2020 Upheaval that accompanied the office realignment in 2018 was compounded by key departures in the human resources department in 2019. After an interim period of triage, the OIG has emerged with a new, highly-effective human resources program. Specifically, the OIG hired a new HR director and contracted with a governmental center of excellence to provide the human resources processing and leadership necessary for effective recruitment and retention. These moves have already yielded dividends in the form of 13 new employees brought on board this fiscal year, and with accompanying gains in productivity. For the current SemiAnnual Reporting period, the Commerce OIG anticipates a production volume in line with the OIG historical best. The OIG has taken major steps to improve and streamline the OIG’s recruiting and hiring abilities to ensure that the agency attracts and retains top talent and is able to adapt to the changing risk profile of the Department. Further, not only have OIG departures dropped dramatically since last year, but the OIG currently has 17 applicants who have accepted offers of employment and will be joining the OIG shortly. More broadly regarding staffing: consistent with our recent discussions with congressional appropriators, we are on track to have more than 160 employees within the next two months, and reach full staffing levels by the end of the fiscal year. IG Gustafson: “Now that the employee turnover situation has stabilized, my sense is that the vast majority of the staff are excited. It’s difficult to make a change of the magnitude that was necessary at Commerce OIG, and there will inevitably be resistance. But most of the staff are very energized. I see it and hear it every day. I see hope and excitement in more and more of the staff as we work together toward the future.” The decennial Census is always a critical focus of the DOC OIG, and has been identified as a top management challenge since 2014. Our oversight to date has provided 55 findings and 78 recommendations, and we are well-positioned to continue our timely and relevant oversight under the direct leadership of the Principal Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation. In addition to continuing execution of our audit plan, the OIG will deploy as many resources as necessary in service of decennial oversight. The IG has already begun weekly calls with the Census Director, which will last through the decennial, and the IG also meets regularly with the Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Our hotline staff are in constant contact with Census in order to process the massive volume of complaints that typically accompany the decennial, and our Data Analytics groups are poised to deploy new and exciting tools to monitor the decennial in real time. In addition, our Office of Investigations has already begun coordination with the FBI and is ready to deploy as required to investigate allegations of fraud, waste and abuse related to the decennial Census. The OIG is taking concrete and visible steps to both understand the full depth and breadth of the concerns raised by the FEVS, and to make meaningful changes to address those concerns. IG Gustafson: “I take very seriously both the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and any Department of Commerce OIG Response to POGO 2/19/2020 information provided by whistleblowers here at the Commerce OIG. The concerns regarding morale and productivity – while not unprecedented for this office – have been a focal point of my tenure. My leadership group and I are committed to taking a close look at the concerns raised by our employees, and responding in timely and impactful ways. We are working closely with the National Academy of Public Administration on an eight-month engagement to evaluate the Commerce OIG and work with leadership to create an action plan that addresses all the concerns raised by our employees. Though the process will not be easy, we are confident that a more engaged and productive OIG will emerge.” IG Gustafson: “Although Senator Grassley and I have worked together for years on previous OIG-related matters, he has ignored my requests for a personal meeting. Instead, he asked that I brief his staff, which I accommodated by sitting for an in-person interview for more than two hours. Although my predecessor presided over lower FEVS scores in 2012, and was publicly accused of wrongdoing, Senator Grassley was silent. Although I, like my fellow IGs, conduct oversight in a non-partisan fashion, the only reasonable conclusion is that this inquiry is motivated by political concerns.” IG Gustafson: “Although we see little value in the continued efforts of the Senate Committees to re-cultivate the same ground, we will continue to cooperate in any way we can. Any congressional committee concerned with effective government oversight and value for the taxpayer should be extremely excited about what’s happening at the Commerce OIG. An oversight organization with a troubled past that goes back for decades is on the brink of turning things around and becoming very effective across the board. This is not the time to play politics with this OIG, where so many gains have been realized recently, and so many more are about to happen in the next 9 months.” Regarding the targeting of individual OIG career employees with unattributed allegations, it is an inappropriate and unwarranted invasion of privacy against two long-tenured and wellregarded senior executives. Amplifying these unfounded allegations serves no governmental purpose, and appears designed only to intimidate and harass these dedicated civil servants.