The federal government contains no shortage of regulators and overseers involved in many aspects of American business. While these people watch out for potential misconduct in areas such as agriculture and commerce, a new report from the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) asks the question: Where are the watchdogs who are supposed to be watching the watchdogs?
The report (called “Where Are All the Watchdogs?”) tracks vacancies in the offices of the inspectors general at federal agencies. At the time it was released in February, it found 12 vacant IG seats out of a total of 73 (16 percent)—a number that was unchanged at press time. The vacancies ranged from spots that have been open for less than two weeks to one—at the U.S. Department of State—that has been unoccupied since January 2008.
