Report alleges politicized appointments to inspector general positions

The top Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee released a report Thursday accusing the Bush administration of making highly politicized appointments to inspector general positions at federal agencies.

The partisan report examined 43 inspectors general appointed by President Bush and compared them with appointments made by former President Clinton. Under Bush, more than 60 percent of the appointed inspectors general had prior political experience and more than one-third had worked in either Bush White House.

Under Clinton, less than 25 percent of IG appointees had prior political experience. None of the Clinton appointments had ever worked in a Democratic White House.

The report also found that less than 20 percent of Bush appointees had prior audit experience. More than 60 percent of inspectors general appointed by President Clinton had previous audit experience.

The White House did not return phone calls seeking a response to the report. The majority office of the Government Reform Committee also declined to comment.

"Whereas President Clinton typically appointed nonpartisan career public servants as IGs, President Bush has repeatedly chosen individuals with Republican political backgrounds," the report stated.

The report also questioned some instances when the political leanings of an inspector general could have influenced their actions.

Specifically, the minority office accused Health and Human Services Department IG Janet Rehnquist of delaying a report critical of Florida's pension system until after the reelection of President Bush's younger brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Rehnquist is the daughter of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. She served as the associate counsel to the president in the first Bush administration.

The report also reproved Rehnquist's successor-Dara Corrigan-for not investigating whether HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson was involved in the decision to withhold the department's Medicare cost estimates from Congress.

Army Inspector General Lt. Gen. Paul Mikolashek was criticized for his finding that the mistreatment of prisoners earlier this year at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was the result of "unauthorized action taken by a few individuals," and not the responsibility of senior officials.

The report also cited Stuart Bowen, who served as the inspector general of the Coalition Provisional Authority, which was not covered by the Inspector General Act, noting that Bowen held several positions in the current Bush administration and was active in the controversial recount of votes in Florida during the 2000 presidential elections.