OIG Report Exposes Climate Change “Contractors” were not Ethical and were Grossly Overpaid
In a blistering 55 page report, Monday, the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart of Justice released a report that could shine a spotlight on how the “Climate Change” agenda of the left is really just an attempt to grab up federal funds from taxpayers after activist judges and lawmakers have forced through massively expensive and unscientific concepts.
The Report is titled: “Audit of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Procurement and Administration of Expert Witness Contracts.”(ENRD)
(CONTRACTORS ARE OVERPAID)
“Overall, we determined that ENRD contracting officers inappropriately delegated significant contracting duties
to its litigation staff, such as the negotiation of pay rates and contractor oversight. While JMD policy
authorizes litigation staff to conduct some contracting activities, this authorization is not compliant with the
FAR requirements related to delegation of duties. We also found that ENRD did not complete significant
acquisition planning steps, such as justifications for pay rates and the use of sole-source contracting. Additionally, we found that ENRD did not properly review contractor invoices or properly authorize contractor personnel,” the OIG reported.
“To accomplish these objectives, we reviewed eight-time and materials expert witness contracts totaling approximately $52 million,” the report read.
(ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS)
“The eight expert witness contracts we reviewed pertain to litigation in areas such as: tribal land appraisals;
natural disasters; federal emission standards; water and hydrology rights; and the civil rights of children on
tribal lands. As of July 1, 2020, approximately $38 million had been expended under the contract awards,” according to the report.VOTE NOW IN OUR 2020 PRESIDENTIAL POLL
(THE DOJ LITIGATION STAFF MAY NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED)
“According to [Justice Management Division] JMD, prior to the implementation of any version of the Expert Witness Instruction, a
congressional inquiry found that the DOJ’s expert witness contracts were inappropriately administered
through DOJ litigation staff. As a result, the Expert Witness Instruction directs DOJ litigating components to
administer expert witness contracts through a contracting office. JMD also explained that these guidelines are intended to minimize the potential misuse of the FEW Appropriation by DOJ litigation staff,” the report said.
(THEY LACK TRANSPARENCY AND SOURCING)
“We generally found that each expert witness contractor completed the deliverables under each award.
However, we found that six of the contractors did not a list of information sources used under the
contract, as required by ENRD. We also found that three contractors conducted work not approved in the
SOW,” read the report.
(RECOMMENDATIONS TO CLEAN UP THEIR ACT)
The OIG provided 9 recommendations on how to clean up these problems and noted that they had released similar concerns and recommendations in 2014 under the Obama Administration:
(THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME)
“Prior OIG Audit. As previously mentioned, the OIG conducted an audit in 2014 with the objective of reviewing the
DOJ’s management and use of the FEW Appropriation for expert witnesses. The OIG identified instances
where the FEW Appropriation was used inconsistently with JMD guidance and determined that this guidance should be strengthened to ensure that the allowable uses of the FEW Appropriation are clear and that all DOJ attorneys and their staff understand the necessary elements of an expert witness contract to be paid with the FEW Appropriation. As a result, in 2018 JMD revised its guidance to address the OIG’s recommendations,” the report said.
This story is developing.
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