HUD IG accuses Cuomo of harassment

Testimony at a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing turned ugly Wednesday as Susan Gaffney, inspector general at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, accused HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo of "harassing and undermining" her.

Cuomo, said Gaffney, has a "hostility" to the concept of an independent IG "not subject to his control."

"Ideally, the relationship between an IG and the agency head is characterized by mutual respect, a common commitment to the agency mission, and a thorough understanding and acceptance of the vastly different roles of the IG and agency head," Gaffney said at the hearing, which marked the 20th anniversary of the Inspector General Act. "Under the present HUD secretary, the situation is somewhat different."

Gaffney alleged that Cuomo and his staff:

• Told her to undertake an aggressive anti-fraud initiative in only cities with African-American mayors and, when the selections were criticized as racist, said Cuomo had nothing to do with them.
• Warned her that she would be "humiliated" if she filed a negative report on HUD's 2020 management reform plan.
• Insisted that the Secretary's office had a right to conduct criminal investigations even though the IG Act gives that authority to inspectors general.
• Proposed a program that would shield landlords from her investigations.
• Refused her request for a separate HUD IG personnel office.
• Exaggerated the results of an internal review of the IG's finances.
• Hired an outside attorney to investigate complaints of racial discrimination against her.

Gaffney and Cuomo have had a long-running dispute that Gaffney said stems from a 1995 audit her office conducted of a program under the jurisdiction of then-Assistant Secretary Cuomo. At the time Cuomo heatedly disputed the authority of the IG and strongly objected to what he said was a "lack of accountability" on Gaffney's part.

Committee Chairman Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., acknowledged that IG-Secretary relationships can be stressful and questioned whether the executive branch is providing IGs with adequate support.

"The job of IG isn't easy," Thompson said. "I would expect that most agency heads are not exactly overjoyed to see the IG walk through the door with offers of, 'I'm here to help.' No one likes to hear that their pet policy proposal is going to cost more money than has been advertised."

Health and Human Services Inspector General June Gibbs Brown represented the other side of the spectrum at the hearing. She described her working relationship with Secretary Donna Shalala as "successful."

"Since the first day that I entered the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Shalala has made it clear that when policy was formulated at HHS, the Inspector General would always have a seat at the table," she said.

Both Gaffney and Brown expressed support for a bill sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, which would establish 9-year terms of office for IGs, increase their salaries and require external reviews of IG offices every three years.