WASHINGTON, 8 July 2005 — With the entire world watching as details unfold of the horrific attack in London, news from Washington is that an audit on the DC government reveals the nation’s capital failed to keep track of millions of dollars earmarked for bioterrorism.
The news comes three years after a series of anthrax-letter attacks in 2002 killed two local postal workers and scared government officials and city residents. Auditors for the Office of Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services uncovered the accounting lapses which they say made it difficult for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, to track how Washington DC spends its bioterrorism funds.
The audit, which is scheduled to be released today, noted that the CDC “awarded the District of Columbia Department of Health (District) $24.5 million between September 1999 and August 2004 to improve their bioterrorism preparedness and response capabilities under the Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism Program.
“The District did not track Program funds by focus area, and did not provide an accurate financial status report (FSR) for the period. The District did not use or did not obligate $11.8 million or 48 percent of the $24.5 million awarded. The District improperly charged or did not adequately document $76,432 in Program funds, and erroneously charged $162,105 in employee overtime pay to Program funds. The District did not use Program funds to supplant other State or local expenditures.”
“Without accurate and complete accounting of program funds, the CDC cannot measure how the program is being implemented and whether its objectives have been met, noted the audit, which was completed last month.
The report tracked bioterrorism funds from 1999 to 2004, and questioned hundreds of thousands of dollars “spent on improper or undocumented expenditures,” which included payroll payments, computer equipment, and cars.
According to the investigation, the District charged the CDC $100,72 in salary and $18,073 in benefits for one employee, although federal officials had authorized only a $69,906 salary and $12,541 in benefits.
