Inspector General U S

Senate investigators have found that federal inspectors general, who are supposed to uncover and root out improprieties inside their agencies, too often cover up governmental wrongdoing and try to intimidate those who want to expose it. In a report obtained by The Times, to be made public this week, investigators for a Senate governmental affairs subcommittee cite "a disturbing pattern of misconduct" by inspectors general in a broad array of federal agencies.

Congressional officials voiced new concern Tuesday over CIA Director Michael V. Hayden's decision to make the agency's inspector general the target of an internal probe. Seeking to defuse the issue, Robert L. Deitz, a senior CIA attorney in charge of the probe, briefed both the House and Senate intelligence committees Tuesday.

The Senate passed legislation to create inspector general offices in four federal agencies and toughen the investigating and audit procedures in 33 departments and agencies that have no such units. The bill, approved 85 to 0 and sent to the House, would establish Offices of Inspector General in the Treasury Department, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Office of Personnel Management.

Few government agencies have embraced privatization like the Small Business Administration. Bankers, not SBA employees, now make most of the lending decisions that channel billions in government-backed loans to business borrowers each year. But aggressive outsourcing has hampered the SBA's ability to keep tabs on the loans it guarantees, according to a recent government audit.

Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh, in an unusual session that one participant described as "a real bloodletting," Wednesday ordered the heads of three Justice Department agencies to end their opposition to a compromise he had worked out on legislation overhauling the department's inspector-general powers.

The House gave easy approval Friday to legislation that would create an independent inspector general to monitor the CIA, answerable to Congress as well as the agency director. The provision, in a compromise bill authorizing the government's intelligence activities for the coming year, was passed on a voice vote and was sent to the Senate.

President Bush urged the official watchdogs for all federal departments and agencies Tuesday to help him fulfill his commitment to "the highest ethical standards in government." Bush told the inspectors general in a memo that he is relying "on your vigilance to help me honor that commitment." Bush has sent Congress legislation that would revise federal ethics law and ban receipt of honorariums by members of Congress.

A little-noticed provision inserted into this year's State Department authorization bill by conservative Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) would force out of office the inspector general who conducted the initial investigation into the improper search of President Clinton's passport files last year. The move has infuriated some Democrats, who suspect a partisan political motive in the effort to remove State Department Inspector General Sherman Funk from the post he has held since 1987.

The federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting raised strong objections on constitutional grounds Tuesday to Congress' requirement that an inspector general be appointed to oversee how the corporation spends its money.

In a rebuttal to the Pentagon inspector general, a massive Air Force report disputes allegations that five of its senior officials improperly bailed out McDonnell Douglas in 1990 and charges that the inspector general violated the rights of the accused individuals. The Air Force findings are scheduled to be sent to Defense Secretary Les Aspin today, sources familiar with the report told The Times on Tuesday.

Valerie Lau, the Treasury Department's besieged chief watchdog, accused by congressional investigators of violating federal contracting law, said she would resign in March. Inspector General Lau, who also was under fire from Republicans in Congress for her office's investigation of two Secret Service agents, said she would leave after her office issues its audit of the department's financial statements. She has held the position since December 1994.

As a special agent with the U.S. government, Terri Price has been trained to operate high-tech surveillance equipment, to sweep crime scenes for the most delicate clues, and to fire a 9-millimeter Beretta handgun with deadly accuracy. But Price's investigations only occasionally require surveillance, rarely involve crime scenes and never end in shootouts.

A little-noticed provision inserted into this year's State Department authorization bill by conservative Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) would force out of office the inspector general who conducted the initial investigation into the improper search of President Clinton's passport files last year. The move has infuriated some Democrats, who suspect a partisan political motive in the effort to remove State Department Inspector General Sherman Funk from the post he has held since 1987.

In a rebuttal to the Pentagon inspector general, a massive Air Force report disputes allegations that five of its senior officials improperly bailed out McDonnell Douglas in 1990 and charges that the inspector general violated the rights of the accused individuals. The Air Force findings are scheduled to be sent to Defense Secretary Les Aspin today, sources familiar with the report told The Times on Tuesday.

Senate investigators have found that federal inspectors general, who are supposed to uncover and root out improprieties inside their agencies, too often cover up governmental wrongdoing and try to intimidate those who want to expose it. In a report obtained by The Times, to be made public this week, investigators for a Senate governmental affairs subcommittee cite "a disturbing pattern of misconduct" by inspectors general in a broad array of federal agencies.

The House gave easy approval Friday to legislation that would create an independent inspector general to monitor the CIA, answerable to Congress as well as the agency director. The provision, in a compromise bill authorizing the government's intelligence activities for the coming year, was passed on a voice vote and was sent to the Senate.

The federal government spends about $2 billion a year on unnecessary hospital care for Medicare patients, and back problems, diabetes and upper respiratory infections are among the most common sources of questionable admissions, according to a special investigation by the Health and Human Services Department. More than three-fourths of the mishandled patients did need medical care but "would have been treated more appropriately in outpatient settings," said the report by Richard P.

As a special agent with the U.S. government, Terri Price has been trained to operate high-tech surveillance equipment, to sweep crime scenes for the most delicate clues, and to fire a 9-millimeter Beretta handgun with deadly accuracy. But Price's investigations only occasionally require surveillance, rarely involve crime scenes and never end in shootouts.

President Bush urged the official watchdogs for all federal departments and agencies Tuesday to help him fulfill his commitment to "the highest ethical standards in government." Bush told the inspectors general in a memo that he is relying "on your vigilance to help me honor that commitment." Bush has sent Congress legislation that would revise federal ethics law and ban receipt of honorariums by members of Congress.

The federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting raised strong objections on constitutional grounds Tuesday to Congress' requirement that an inspector general be appointed to oversee how the corporation spends its money.