OPM to investigate suspicious appointments at Customs

The Office of Personnel Management plans to review the circumstances surrounding several political appointments made at the Customs Service over the last two years, according to a new General Accounting Office report. In 1998, the Treasury Department asked the Office of Personnel Management for the authority to add 10 law enforcement positions at Customs under the Schedule A excepted hiring authority, without regard to competitive civil service rules. In asking for the additional hiring authority, Treasury officials told OPM that because of the "sensitive nature" of the needed positions, publicly advertising them was not desirable. OPM approved the positions and Customs went on to fill nine of the positions between September 1998 and January 2001. But in a new report, "Personnel Practices: Circumstances Surrounding U.S. Customs Service's Use of Schedule A Appointment Authority," GAO said five of those appointments raised eyebrows. Many politically appointed federal employees attempt to convert their work status from political appointee to career civil servant shortly before a presidential election in an attempt to remain in the executive branch-a practice known as "burrowing in." Two of the Customs appointments, for a law enforcement specialist and a public affairs specialist, were inconsistent with Treasury's assertion that the needed positions were "sensitive in nature," GAO found. Later, Customs created identical positions, advertised them and then hired the two appointees to fill them. Customs claimed they decided after appointing the two employees that the positions were needed permanently at the agency. Circumstances suggested that the two appointees might have had an unfair competitive advantage in getting the jobs, GAO said. Still, GAO could not determine that the two appointees would not have been hired based on their education and work experience prior to joining Customs. Two other appointments raised a red flag among Treasury officials. Just before the Bush administration, two noncareer Senior Executive Service employees were appointed--one as a law enforcement appropriations officer and one as a strategic trade advisor. Although OPM determined that both of the appointments were made with the legitimate use of Schedule A authority, the agency, in its written response to GAO's report, said it was concerned about the appearance of political favoritism surrounding these cases. OPM is now planning its own review of all the appointments, as well as a review of the original justification for allowing the additional appointments.