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The Office of Inspector General is committed to fulfilling its statutory responsibilities and supporting members of
Congress, the Secretary, senior Department officials, and the public in achieving a safe, efficient, and effective
transportation system.
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The Office of Inspector General will build on its long-standing record as a highly respected contributor to the Department's mission.
Our unique role as the Department's sole in-house source for objective examination of its programs and their integrity, along with our
core values and audit and investigative expertise, will ensure we remain highly responsive to the needs of the Secretary, Congress, and
the American people. We will be proactive in selecting our work and versatile in integrating our capabilities. In a complex and evolving
transportation environment, we will excel in identifying opportunities for improvements in operations and programs and in relentlessly
protecting programs from fraud, waste, abuse, and violations of law.
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The Office of Inspector General works within the Department of Transportation to promote effectiveness and head
off, or stop, waste, fraud and abuse in departmental programs. We do this through audits and investigations. OIG
also consults with the Congress about programs in progress and proposed new laws and regulations.
The Inspector General Act of 1978 gives the Office of
Inspector General autonomy
to do its work without interference. The Inspector General is chosen by the President -- not based on political
affiliation but rather on integrity and ability. IG candidates can show accomplishment in several fields,
including accounting, auditing, law, financial or management analysis, public administration or
investigations. Inspector General appointees are subject to Senate confirmation. Only the President has the power
to remove an inspector general before the IG's regular term of office ends, and the reasons for doing so must be
communicated to Congress.
The Inspector General Act of 1978 prevents officials in
the scrutinized agency from interfering with audits or investigations; it also
requires the IG to keep the Secretary of Transportation and Congress informed of findings. However, much of OIG's
most significant work is accomplished with the cooperation of the officials whose programs are being reviewed.
| Strategic and Historic Documentation |
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| The Inspector General |
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Calvin L. Scovel III
Inspector General
United States
Department of Transportation
Calvin L. Scovel III is the sixth Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). He was nominated by President George W. Bush
on July 13, 2006 and, after confirmation by the Senate, was sworn in on October 27, 2006. He is a recipient of the Secretary's Gold Medal for
Outstanding Achievement for his leadership of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in supporting DOT's recovery effort after the collapse of the
I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis in 2007.
OIG was established by law in 1978 to provide the Secretary and Congress with independent and objective reviews of the efficiency and effectiveness
of DOT operations and programs and to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. OIG's 400-plus staff works to support DOT's priorities of
transportation safety and effective program delivery and performance. Recent audit reports and congressional testimony have addressed DOT's
implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; FAA's safety oversight and efforts to develop the Next Generation Air
Transportation System; air carriers' outsourcing of aircraft maintenance; rail, pipeline, and commercial vehicle safety; bridge safety and inspections;
NAFTA cross-border trucking; Amtrak's operations and budgetary needs; and safety and financing issues in multi-billion dollar highway and transit
programs like Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel and the Lower Manhattan recovery project. In Fiscal Year 2008, OIG issued 90 audit reports, which
identified more than $347 million in financial recommendations, and conducted criminal investigations resulting in 159 indictments, 122 convictions,
and $530 million in fines, restitutions, and recoveries.
Mr. Scovel joined DOT after 29 years of active service in the U.S. Marine Corps, from which he retired as a Brigadier General. His last military
assignment was as a senior judge on the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. He previously served as Assistant Judge Advocate General of
the Navy for Military Justice, the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy and the Judge Advocate General on all criminal justice policy matters.
He also commanded a military police battalion that provided security and law enforcement for Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia.
Mr. Scovel served as senior legal advisor for the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which included all Marine amphibious forces in Operation Desert
Storm and later in a NATO exercise above the Arctic Circle in Norway. He had previously served as legal advisor for a Marine amphibious unit deployed
to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, where it conducted exercises in Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, Kenya, and Australia.
A Marine judge advocate, Mr. Scovel served as prosecutor, defense counsel, or judge in 250 courts-martial that included charges of murder, rape,
child sexual assault, and drug trafficking.
As an adjunct faculty member for the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, Mr. Scovel led instruction teams in the rule of law and
civilian control of the military for senior civilian and military officials in Honduras, Mauritius, Albania, and Serbia. He was in the Pentagon on
September 11, 2001. His military awards include the Legion of Merit (four awards) and Combat Action Ribbon.
Mr. Scovel received his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his juris doctor degree from Duke University
School of Law. He also received a master's degree from the Naval War College.
Mr. Scovel is married and has two sons. Carey is a graduate of Elon University and serves as a police officer in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Thomas is a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. |
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