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Senators Seek Answer From ITC About IG

By Robert Stacy McCain on 8.7.09 @ 8:04PM

Three senators, including Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, have sent a letter to Shara L. Aranoff, chairwoman of the International Trade Commission, expressing "serious concerns" about the contractual terms under which the ITC's inspector general is hired.

The letter, signed by Lieberman, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- the committee's ranking Republican -- and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), complained of the ITC's unusual practice of hiring the agency's IG under a six-month contract, which the senators suggest may undermine the watchdog's independence.

In June, Grassley sent a letter asking Aranoff about an incident in which "certain procurement files were removed forcibly from the possession" of the ITC inspector general. Within hours of Grassley's letter being sent via e-mail, IG Judith Gwynn was informed that her contract would not be renewed.

The letter to Aranoff was sent earlier this week, according to sources on Capitol Hill, but the text of the letter has not yet been made public.