<p>Verbatim from the Fiscal 2009 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development report:</p>
<p>"Earlier this year, the (Senate Appropriations) Committee was informed by the Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration [MARAD] that for many years, officials at the United States Merchant Marine Academy may have been involved in the improper and illegal use of appropriated funds. The suggested level of impropriety is startling. The list of potential violations identified in an internal review of the Academy ordered by the Department of Transportations Deputy Secretary includes obligating funding in excess of the amount appropriated for salaries and benefits at the Academy; bypassing the civil service system by employing staff through the Academys Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentalities [NAFIs] to conduct official Academy business; bypassing competition requirements by entering into invalid reimbursable agreements in order to transmit revenue to one of the Academys NAFIsthe Global Maritime and Transportation School [GMATS]; circumventing Federal procurement regulations; and, perhaps most disturbingly, siphoning funds away from the direct appropriation for the Academys instructional program for other Academy functions."</p>
<p>interesting that you would leave out this portion oliver</p>
<p>
[quote]
Moreover, the idea that so many questionable and potentially
illegal actions took place under the supervision of MARAD leadership
suggestions either gross negligence in the agency’s oversight
responsibility, or worse, complicity.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>But I appreciate the full link. I will await the full audit and results to pin the blame on anyone in particular.</p>
<p>By the way does anybody know who the financial officer for the Academy is/was? I know the Supe is ultimately responsible, but who is in the financial position at this time?</p>
<p>Don't read anything into..I just copied the first paragraph of the report...as the Super and Deputy Super are presidential appointments, and the fact that we obviously both know their names it is important to note that even Congress considers it an allegation at this point. The other gents are civil service and accordingly perhaps should not have their names splattered all over the internet. Even Oliver has some decency.</p>
<p>took Eliot's book (In Peace and War by Cruikshank & Kline) off the shelf and re-read chapters 11 to 13..in retrospect, you can easily spot the contact mines in the water....</p>
<p>and what do you bet they attempt to brush it under the rug and not give us mids a straight forward answer to what's going on?
this should prove to be an interesting next several months, eh?</p>
<p>Looks to me as if their big "sin" was the attempt to make things work, since, apparently, the school's actual needs were not commensurate with budget sources. Since the 2009 proposed budget, which the Committee is ironically rejecting, included provisions for more flexibility in spending, obviously there was a problem which lawmakers both recognized and were attempting to address.</p>
<p>I have more empathy for this type of leadership than the AF, who in this morning's WP headlines, are attempting to explain away 10 VIP capsules so their generals can travel on transport planes in style while the Army troops, which they are tasked to transport, survive in a cattle car environment. What is even more disturbing is the Deptuty COS's decision for a million dollar change order to change the seat covering from brown to blue since blue doesn't show dirt as badly. Not meant to start a discussion but just an example to show the opposite extreme of govt abuse of taxpayer's money.</p>