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.
