GSA inspector general praised in watchdog group’s report

The report – titled “Those Who Dared: 30 Officials Who Stood Up for Our Country” – singles out Miller for helping the federal government win a False Claims Act suit against PeopleSoft, which was accused of misrepresenting its commercial pricing practices during the negotiation of a Multiple Award Schedule contract with GSA. In October 2006, PeopleSoft’s parent company, Oracle Corp., agreed to pay the government $98.5 million as part of a settlement.

The report also mentions Miller’s investigation into charges that Sun Microsystems overcharged the government for IT products and services. The report notes that then-GSA Administrator Lurita Doan accused Miller’s office of intimidating GSA contracting officer Michael Butterfield in an effort to squash a contract renewal proposed by Sun Microsystems. However, an investigation conducted by Postal Service Inspector General David Williams later discredited Doan’s claims.

“Notwithstanding Mr. Miller’s conclusion that [Sun] had overcharged government agencies by more than $25 million and the Department of Justice’s subsequent False Claims Act suit filed against Sun in April 2007, Doan intervened in the contracting process in an effort to renew GSA’s contract with Sun,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says in its report. “Although Sun Microsystems ultimately withdrew the contract, Mr. Miller faced criticism for his findings until an investigation by [Williams] verified the accuracy and appropriateness of Mr. Miller’s conclusion that Sun Microsystems had overcharged the government.”

The report notes that Williams, in a May 16 letter to Miller, applauded Miller for his “robust oversight” of the Sun contract negations.

The report mentions several other inspector generals, including Glenn Fine at the Department of Justice and John Higgins at the Department of Education, “who have been the only check on agencywide corruption, misconduct and undue political influence,” according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Others noted in the report include: Richard Clarke, President Bush’s former chief counterterrorism adviser; James Comey, former deputy attorney general from 2003 until August 2005; and former U.S Ambassador Joseph Wilson.  

“The people identified in this report stood up and did the right thing, risking their jobs and, in some cases, even their lives,” the report’s executive summary says. “Some have already been recognized as heroes, while others have been vilified for daring to say what no one else would.”

To view the report, click here.