Grassley Releases Report on Lack of Inspector General Oversight

at the International Trade Commission

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today released a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the lack of Inspector General (IG) oversight at the International Trade Commission (ITC).  Although, the Inspector General Act requires that agencies appoint an IG to detect waste, fraud, and abuse, the ITC failed to fill the position for more than four years.  Instead, the GAO report found, ITC relied on "acting" and "temporary" appointments for most of the period between November 2005 and December 2009.  For 17 months during that time, ITC operated with neither an acting nor a temporary IG, according to the GAO report.

"Agencies need to understand that Inspector General oversight is not optional," Grassley said.  "The law requires that they have an IG on the job and that the IG be given the resources and access to information necessary to do the job.  The ITC needs to finish implementing the GAO's recommendations for corrective action as soon as possible to ensure that there is adequate oversight of the agency from now on."

GAO also found that the ITC failed to support the temporary and acting IGs with policies and procedures to ensure access to agency records.  The ITC failed to provide notice and coordination with the temporary IG on a criminal referral to the Justice Department.  And, the ITC kept the IG's budget flat while its own budget increased by 23 percent.

Grassley is ranking member of the Committee on Finance, with jurisdiction over international trade, and a long-time advocate for inspectors general.

The GAO report on the ITC is available here.

ROCK ISLAND, IL (10/28/2010)(readMedia)-- The Augustana Choir will showcase pieces from diverse musical traditions at its annual fall concert on Friday, October 29, at 8 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public and will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport (2136 Brady St.).

Choir members from your area include :

Carrie Duke from East Moline, IL. Duke is a sophomore majoring in accounting.

Halley Stearns from Sherrard, IL. Stearns is a sophomore majoring in anthropology.

Hannah Barney from Bettendorf, IA. Barney is a sophomore majoring in business administration advising.

Edwin Fonseca from Moline, IL. Fonseca is a junior majoring in international business and accounting.

Sheila Ahuja from Rock Island, IL. Ahuja is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Rebecca Anderson from Moline, IL. Anderson is a sophomore majoring in liberal studies.

Gregory Donley from Silvis, IL. Donley is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Darshan Hullon from Moline, IL. Hullon is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Eryn Maccabee from Moline, IL. Maccabee is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

Katie Rea from Rock Island,, IL. Rea is a first year majoring in liberal studies.

The concert will open with two modern religious works: Damijan Mocnick's Latin hymn "Christus est natus" and Krzysztof Penderecki's a cappella piece "Song of Cherubim." The remainder of the choir's musical selections will be divided into three programmatic sections: Songs of the Night, selections from Mozart's Requiem, and American Music. The selections from Mozart's Requiem have been arranged by Augustana's Dr. Jon Hurty for organ and string chamber accompaniment. Other pieces from these programmatic sections include Eric Whitacre's "Sleep" and Undine Moore's arrangement of the spiritual "Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord."

The Augustana Choir is the college's premiere vocal ensemble. Since its establishment in 1931, the choir has sung at numerous prestigious venues across the nation and the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The choir also performs regularly in churches and concert halls throughout the Quad Cities.

Hurty, a music professor and department co-chair, directs the Augustana Choir. He received his doctorate in choral conducting and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his responsibilities at Augustana, Hurty directs several community and church ensembles in the Quad Cities and serves as a guest conductor throughout the United States.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

The Iowa Machine Shed is hosting the "Iowa Pork Tailgate Challenge" on Saturday Nov. 6th with all proceeds going to the Child Abuse Council. Starting at 11am at the Iowa Machine Shed, up to 12 amateur grill contestants will be grilling and competing for a panel of judges and a people's choice award as they prepare their own specialty recipes using Pork Tenderloin or Pork Loin. People can show their support and purchase a $2.00 ticket to sample the contestant's entrees and vote for their favorite amateur cook. "The Shed enjoys celebrating Pork Month and what better way then to have a tailgate competition and partner with the Child Abuse Council," states Jeff Grunder, manager of the Iowa Machine Shed.

For more information on the event or to be compete as an amateur cook, please call the Machine Shed Restaurant at (563) 391-2427 or visit  www.machineshed.com. The Machine Shed is located at I-80 and Northwest Blvd in Davenport.

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