GAO Report Says He's Just Not Getting The Job Done

A recent 77-page report issued by the Government Accountability Office reveals that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Inspector General ranked next to last compared to inspectors in 27 other federal agencies in managing costs and looking for ways to save taxpayers money.

The Associated Press reports that NASA's inspector general, Robert "Moose" Cobb, has failed in his role as financial watchdog for the agency, saving taxpayers only 36 cents for every dollar the GAO has spent on his department - when others in his role in other agencies averaged $9.49 saved per dollar spent.

The GAO said that Cobb spent too much time on investigations irrelevant to saving money, didn't conduct enough audits, and failed to make recommendations for saving money on those he did.

Cobb disputed the report, saying the GAO's conclusions were misrepresented and flawed. Meanwhile, members of congress called for him to be replaced.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said, "This report confirms that the inspector general at NASA isn't doing the job for either NASA or the taxpayers. With the evidence that's piled up about the shortcomings of this watchdog operation, and given the size of NASA's operation at $20 billion, it looks like new leadership is needed in the office of the inspector general."

House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tennessee, said, "NASA spends billions of dollars with private contractors and how much money Cobb left on the table due to his failures to manage his office is hard to imagine. The country can't afford Mr. Cobb."

FMI: http://oig.nasa.gov