The Erosion of Oversight: Combating Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Procurement

Welcome to Beyond the FAR from GW Law's government procurement law program, where experts [music] unpack the business of government. And now, here's your host, Dean Jessica Tipman. Hello and welcome to Beyond the FAR. My name is Jessica Tipman, and I am your host. Uh we have a great episode for you today. Um, today we're talking about one

of my favorite topics, uh, because it's near and dear to my heart, uh, which is kind of integrity and anti-corruption efforts and government procurement. Um, but first some background before I introduce our wonderful guest. Uh, in government spending, fraud, waste, and abuse are a known risk, especially when you're spending over 750 billion dollars a year in government

procurement. The goal of oversight is not perfect prevention. it is to stop as much as possible, detect what gets through and then correct the conditions that enabled it. The United States has one of the most sophisticated government oversight infrastructures in the world, particularly in procurement because, as I said before, billions of dollars move

through contracts and grant programs every year, but 755 I believe billion uh a year most recently. Inspectors General or IG's are our government's watchd dogss. They operate independently inside agencies to audit, inspect, investigate, and then report on waste, fraud, and abuse and mismanagement. And they play a critical role in strengthening integrity and accountability across federal

programs. According to a most recent report, this is FY24 from the Council of the Inspector's General on Integrity and Efficiency, as we fondly call SIGY, uh, IG offices generated about $18 in return for every dollar invested in OIGs. Our guest today, Robert Storch, served until January 2025 as the Senate confirmed inspector general for the US Department