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<br />0364 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Reclamation water projects. Typically, hundreds of millions of <br />dollars are at stake in the resolution of the issues raised by <br />such an audit. All six completed audits were in an "open," or <br />unresolved status, at the time the Reagan Administration <br />assumed office in January, 1981, and Secretary Watt was given a <br />briefing on the audits in February of that year. To date, six <br />of the seven audits are considered closed: three on the basis <br />of Secretarial decisions, and three on the basis of <br />administrative responses from below the Secretarial level. <br /> <br />On his first day in office, President Reagan wrote: <br /> <br />Uncovering fraud, waste and mismanagement of federal <br />funds as well as the promotion of economy, efficiency <br />and effectiveness in the administration of federal <br />programs and operations will be an important priority <br />in my Administration. The Inspectors General will <br />have critical roles in the achievement of this <br />objective.* <br /> <br />White House press secretary James Brady elaborated on the <br />qualities the new administration was seeking in its IG's: "We <br />want people that are meaner than a junkyard dog in ferreting <br />out waste, fraud and mismanagement."** <br /> <br />The ensuing administrative actions taken to close out the <br />Reclamation audits by President Reagan's appointee to the job <br />of Interior Inspector General, Richard Mulberry, as well as by <br />other Interior officials, must be viewed against these higher <br />standards set by this Administration for itself. <br /> <br />* <br /> <br />Letter t~ the Speaker of the House and the President Pro <br />Tempore of the Senate, January 20, 1981. <br /> <br />** <br /> <br />The Washington Post, January 22, 1981, p. AS. <br /> <br />ii <br />