The Inspectors General

www.ignet.gov

Background

Inspectors general are not an agency unto themselves. Rather, there are 57 separate inspector general offices within nearly every federal agency.

Agencies with inspector generals include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense and Education and the CIA, Small Business Administration and NASA.

The inspectors general conduct audits, investigations, inspections and review pending legislation and regulations.

Some are appointed by the president and others are appointed by the heads of the agencies.

The reports, audits and investigation often are newsworthy because they focus on problems within specific programs and sometimes focus on a particular state or community.

The modern inspectors general system was created by the Inspector General Act of 1978. Over the years, the act has been amended several times to add agencies.

Location

Resources

The inspector general for each agency can be found by going to the web site for the agency. But the best and fastest way to find the IG within each agency and to find more general information about inspectors general is to go to IGnet, a collective web site with links to all the agencies with IGs.

The site is: http://www.ignet.gov/

Click on “The Inspectors General” tab along the top of the home page and then “IG Directory/Homepages” to get to the links to the individual agencies.

Also, to find a list of previous inspectors general (who might be good sources) click on “The Inspectors General” tab and then “Presidentially-Appointed, Senate-Confirmed IG Appointment Chronicle.”

The inspectors general are overseen by two groups, the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, created in 1981, and the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency, created in 1992. The president's council oversees the IGs appointed by the president, while the executive council handles those appointed by agency heads.

The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget is chair of both councils. The current deputy director is Clay Johnson III.

Contact information:

The Office of Management and Budget
17th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Room 350 Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20503
202-456-7070
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb

Another possible general source is the Inspector General Management Institute, set up to provide training for people who work in inspectors general offices.

Gaston L.Gianni was recently named executive director of the institute. He worked at the Government Accountability Office and as an inspector general for FDIC.

Contact information:

Inspector General Management Institute
1735 North Lynn St.
Arlington, VA
703-248-2225
igmi.uspsoig.gov/

Does this agency's information need updating? programs@nationalpress.org