The role of the FCC’s Inspector General has been a recurring topic here. Especially the historic unwillingness of the FCC’s IG to look into the functioning of the Commission and instead to focus nearly all resources on the fraud issues that are also a legitimate part of the IG role. An earlier pair of posts here was entitled “A Credible Inspector General Would Make FCC More Credible”.

It was pointed out that ALL federal agency IG’s have the same legislative charter.

They are ALL obligated by 5 USC App. 4(a)(2)

to review existing and proposed legislation and regulations relating to programs and operations of such establishment and to make recommendations in the semiannual reports required by section 5 (a) concerning the impact of such legislation or regulations on the economy and efficiency in the administration of programs and operations administered or financed by such establishment...

The only difference between cabinet level IGs and independent agency IG’s is who appoints them and whether they are subject to Senate confirmation. Their roles and obligations are identical under the above statutes.

The above report was obtained by and published by The Hill and summarizes a recent NRC IG report about possible transgressions by its chairman. Those of us who remember Chairman Kevin Martin may recognize some parallel issues. Of course, Chmn. Martin never had to worry of the FCC IG would ask questions like when he “attempted to control the content and flow of information to the Commission” (“Issue 3 Allegation” , p. v) or whether the “Chairman’s interpersonal interactions with (the Commission) staff and Commissioners has created a chilled workplace environment” (“Issue 5 Allegation”, p. vii) Perhaps if Kevin Martin had had a truly independent IG he might have moderated his behavior - either in response to such oversight or might have avoided some of his bizarre actions if he knew such oversight was possible - and the FCC might have been more productive during his tenure

Until the appointment of the present IG, all FCC IGs had been long term FCC staffers who were known not to “shake the boat”. Indeed, the previous IG, while he was working in OET, told an acquaintance of mine who worked for him that he should not be concerned about a clear violation of ex parte rules because that was just accepted practice at FCC!

FCC as an institution never learns from previous problems. Isn’t the current problem at TV channel 51 with adjacent mobile bands a close cousin of the Channel 14 and 69 problems of the 1980s? Didn’t FCC staff cover up the existence of police radar detector interference to VSATs for a decade before acting? Why don’t emerging interference problems become visible on policy makers’ desks? What can be learned from the GPS/LightSquared issue? Indeed, an FCC IG review of GPS/LS might have made the Commission’s actions seem more reasonable and responsible. As I said earlier, “A Credible Inspector General Would Make FCC More Credible”.

UPDATE

The whole NRC IG report has still not been made public, although Chairman Jaczko has issued a public statement disputing it. However, some publications apparently have the whole text now. Here as some juicy tidbits that Platts.com published:

The IG's report follows complaints by NRC's four other commissioners late last year that Jaczko was prone to angry outbursts and withheld information from his colleagues.

The report described two tense interactions between Jaczko and (NRC Commissioner Kristine) Svinicki that left her "shaken" and describes another incident after which Svinicki was apparently unwilling to be alone in her office after business hours.

The report said that in March 2011, an unnamed witness said Jaczko stormed to Svinicki's office after hours, upset about a letter Svinicki and other commissioners had sent to a member of Congress. Finding her office locked, Jaczko "was ranting, cursing and had banged on Commissioner Svinicki's suite door," the staff witness told Svinicki later, according to the IG report.

Svinicki was inside her office but did not hear Jaczko, the report said.

After learning of the event, Svinicki changed her behavior, leaving the office as soon as her staff departed for the day and being escorted to her car for a period of time, the report said.

And

The report included 15 examples where Jaczko's behavior, according to the IG report, "was not supportive of an open and collaborative work environment" and left some subordinates feeling "bullied."

Commissioner William Ostendorff told the IG that in a "very heated" meeting about post-Fukushima agency actions, Jaczko "lost his temper," then threw his gavel on the table and closed the meeting while Ostendorff was still speaking.

The IG said it had received a statement in March from Jaczko's attorneys saying the chairman had taken "numerous steps" since the December hearings to improve his relationship with commissioners and staff.

The report concluded that Jaczko's testimony to Congress during the December hearings was different from what staff told the IG in five areas but said the Department of Justice concluded "the matter did not warrant prosecution."

Doesn’t this remind you of Chmn. Martin?

Tags: FCC Inspector General, FCC Reform