Letter to The Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States

Letter

Durbin Asks President to Hold GSA Administrator Accountable

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the President asking him to take disciplinary action in line with recommendations made by the Office of the Special Counsel regarding the inappropriate activities of the Administrator of the General Services Administration, Lurita Doan. Senator Durbin called on the President to take action in the next few weeks prior to the markup for the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.

In today's letter, Senator Durbin noted, "The actions of this Administrator, since her commencement at this agency approximately one year ago, do not reflect well on your Administration and on your standards for ethics and integrity. In our view, she has violated the public trust and failure to hold her accountable for her actions would send a regrettable signal that such actions can be tolerated."

Senator Dick Durbin currently serves as Chairman of the newly created Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over GSA, the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Small Business Administration, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving among others.

[text of letter below]

June 14, 2007

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations, with jurisdiction over the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC), I have been following the inappropriate and disturbing activities of the Administrator of the General Services Administration, Lurita Doan. I write to express my deep concern and to urge your disciplinary action prior to my Subcommittee markup, which could be as soon as two weeks' time.

I am aware that the OSC has completed its investigation of allegations that the Administrator engaged in political activities in violation of the Hatch Act. Special Counsel Bloch has now determined that Administrator Doan violated the Hatch Act's prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election where she solicited the political activity of more than thirty subordinate employees and implied that GSA could be used to help elect Republican candidates.

Also disturbing is the finding by Special Counsel Bloch that "despite engaging in the most pernicious of political activity prohibited by the Hatch Act, Administrator Doan has shown no remorse and lacks an appreciation for the seriousness of her violation." The Special Counsel has recommended that Administrator Doan be disciplined to the fullest extent for her serious violation of the Hatch Act and insensitivity to cooperating fully and honestly in the course of his investigation.

These findings come on top of questionable actions the Administrator has taken in the past year with regard to procurement protocols. For example, the GSA Inspector General (IG) has found that the Administrator, who is chief of a procurement agency, did not follow procurement rules in attempting to award a sole source contract to a former colleague. In addition, the GSA IG has testified that Administrator Doan inappropriately expedited a complex contract with a major contractor that she knew was under investigation by the IG and referred to the Justice Department.

Furthermore, the Administrator has threatened the independence of the Inspector General by undermining the IG's ability to perform its oversight function and inappropriately interfering with the IG's budget. I am troubled that she has repeatedly made statements about streamlining oversight, which could result in undermining compliance with procurement rules.

In the past year, morale has been dampened at GSA and valuable employees have departed. The actions of this Administrator, since her commencement at this agency approximately one year ago, do not reflect well on your Administration and on your standards for ethics and integrity. In my view, she has violated the public trust and failure to hold her accountable for her actions would send a regrettable signal that such actions can be tolerated.

For all of the above stated reasons, I urge you, Mr. President, to ask for the resignation of the Administrator of the General Services Administration immediately. It is my hope that you will take this action so that I will not be compelled to take punitive action in the appropriations bill.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
Chairman
Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government

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