Obama to fire service program IG
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WASHINGTON - President Obama plans to fire the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs amid a controversy between the IG and Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, an Obama supporter and former National Basketball Association star.
The inspector general, Gerald Walpin, was criticized by the US attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled an investigation of Johnson and his nonprofit group, St. HOPE Academy, which received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants from the Corporation for National Community Service. The corporation runs the AmeriCorps program.
Obama said in a letter to Congress yesterday that he had lost confidence in Walpin. Neither the president nor Josh Earnest, deputy White House press secretary, would give details.
The president must give Congress 30 days' notice before removing Walpin, who is being suspended with pay for the 30 days. "The president will appoint a replacement in whom he has full confidence as the corporation carries out its important mission," Earnest said.
Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, in a letter to Obama, pointed to a law requiring that Congress be given the reasons an inspector general is fired. He cited a Senate report saying that the requirement is designed to ensure that they are not removed for political reasons.
Grassley said Walpin had identified millions of dollars in AmeriCorps funds that were wasted or misspent, and "it appears he has been doing a good job."
Messages left for Walpin seeking comment were not immediately returned.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
