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GAO-04-618R 1 (2004-04-30)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaqdg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SGAO Accountability * Integrity Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 April 30, 2004 The Honorable Charles E. Grassley Chairman The Honorable Max Baucus Ranking Minority Member Committee on Finance United States Senate Subject: HHS OIG: Allegations of Misspending Were Unsubstantiated The Department of Health and Human Service's (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) plays a vital role in auditing and investigating allegations of fraud and abuse in federal health and welfare programs. Because it independently evaluates various programs, activities, and functions, the OIG must act with integrity at all times. In the fall of 2003, anonymous allegations charged that certain officials in the HHS OIG's Office of Evaluation and Inspections (OEI) sponsored training and management meetings for nonwork purposes and improperly renovated a regional office. The allegations primarily focused on the actions of the Acting OEI Deputy Inspector General in relation to specific events that took place from July through September 2003. The allegations charged that she (1) sponsored training at a Florida resort to facilitate vacation time for staff, (2) scheduled several follow-up training meetings as a way of providing staff with leisure time, and (3) held a managers' meeting in New York as a pretext for participants to attend a retirement celebration for one of OEI's managers. A fourth allegation charged that the Acting OEI Deputy Inspector General, along with an Acting OEI Regional Inspector General, improperly renovated and refurnished office space in one of OEI's regions. At your request, this report examines these allegations. To perform our work, we examined documentation-such as meeting agendas, approval documents, and travel vouchers-related to the allegations; conducted interviews with OIG officials, including managers and participants in events related to the allegations; and reviewed relevant HHS and OIG conference planning and procurement policies and the General Services Administration (GSA) office renovation guidelines.' We determined OEI officials' rationale for their decisions, steps taken to plan or approve various events, and the extent of involvement by those accused of wrongdoing. Our work assessed the allegations that meetings were held 'GSA is responsible for managing federal property and procurements and promulgating guidance and regulations for both activities. GAO-04-618R Review of Allegations at HHS OIG

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