WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley is reiterating the need for greater transparency regarding the Defense Department’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) expenditures in Afghanistan and expressed concern that the Defense Department appears to continue to undermine the work of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
“I remain concerned that the Defense Department continues to impede the efforts of both Congress and SIGAR to determine how $800 million of taxpayer dollars provided to TFBSO were spent,” Grassley wrote to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. “The Defense Department has consistently used flimsy excuses to impede SIGAR’s access to TFBSO documents and former employees.”
Grassley also cited examples that appear to show how Defense Department officials continue to question the methods and integrity of SIGAR and try to assert the dominance of the Defense Department Office of Inspector General over SIGAR.
“The Defense Department has long resisted the efforts of both Congress and the DOD OIG to conduct oversight and increase transparency within the Department,” Grassley wrote. “These behind the scenes efforts to discredit an effective IG at SIGAR, or to generate conflict by pitting one IG against another, will not be tolerated. Therefore, I want assurances from you that the Defense Department is not involved in any effort to marginalize the work of Inspectors General who are responsible for conducting oversight of DOD programs.”
Grassley is seeking to ensure unimpeded oversight of the task force spending after SIGAR documented numerous instances of excessive spending by the now-defunct task force and a shoddy record of projects. The task force oversaw a compressed natural gas station that might have cost as much as $43 million and approved private housing in high-end villas rather than less expensive military housing.
At Grassley’s request, SIGAR agreed to conduct two audits, a financial audit to assess “internal controls, compliance, corrective actions taken on prior findings and recommendations, and outstanding liabilities,” and a performance audit that “will assess the strategy, planning, interagency coordination, oversight, and outcomes” of the task force’s programs and activities in Afghanistan.
Grassley’s letter is available here.
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