WASHINGTON — Despite the commitment of billions of dollars to the federal bailout effort, no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.
“It’s a mess,” said Eric Thorson, the Treasury Department’s inspector general, who has been trying to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. “I don’t think anyone understands right now how we’re going to do proper oversight of this thing.”
In approving the rescue package, lawmakers trumpeted provisions that established layers of independent scrutiny, including a special inspector general to be nominated by the White House, and a congressional oversight panel.
Some lawmakers and their aides fear that political squabbling on Capitol Hill and bureaucratic logjams could delay their work for months. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office, which also has some oversight responsibilities, is struggling to hire people who can understand the intensely complicated financial work involved.
The special inspector is to be the primary overseer of the program, with an allocated budget of $50 million to conduct audits and investigations of how the government spends money under the bailout program.
The leading candidate for the post is Neil Barofsky, a federal prosecutor in New York. The Washington Post
