A congressional report scheduled for release Thursday "reams the [U.S.] Forest Service as 'an agency in complete shambles,' " according to The Washington Times. The report, which pulls together conclusions from more than 100 General Accounting Office studies, will be the focus today of an "unprecedented" joint oversight hearing convened by the House Appropriations, Budget and Resources committees.
Among the bookkeeping and managerial problems outlined in the report, which was obtained by the newspaper, are the USFS's failure to account for $215 million of its FY '96 operating budget, a $500,000 "alternative-reality" rally held last year as a "motivational tool," and recent job announcements that said "only unqualified applicants may apply" (Valerie Richardson, Washington Times, 3/26).
In light of the report, House Resources Committee Chair Don Young, R-Alaska, criticized the agency for requesting a $43 million budget increase in its fiscal 1999 proposal.
Spokesperson Alan Polks said that USFS Chief Mike Dombeck would address the charges at the hearing Thursday, but added that Dombeck has been improving the agency's financial accountability since he took over last year (Richardson, Washington Times).
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