Originally Posted by
buckethead
Can this possibly be true? Can they get her out?
WASHINGTON – Representative Barney Frank today called for the resignation of one of President Obama’s top fishing, ocean, and weather advisers.
Frank said that Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, should be replaced following an inspector general’s report that found misconduct within the agency.
“I believe the time has come to appoint a new head of…NOAA, and put somebody in there who’s really going to embrace what we need,” Frank, a Newton Democrat, said during an appearance on New Bedford-based WBSM-AM. “I think it’s time for Lubchenco to go.”
Representative John Tierney, a Salem Democrat, also called on Lubchenco's dismissal in the wake of the inspector general's report.
An audit released last week detailed how fishing regulators misspent millions of dollars that were collected from fines on fishermen. The money went toward items such as a $300,000 luxury undercover boat, cars for managers, and a weeklong training workshop in Norway.
The audit, conducted by the US Commerce Department’s Inspector General’s office, came after complaints from fishermen that fishing laws were being arbitrarily enforced.
In a statement, Lubchenco defended her tenure, saying that she had asked for the audit of the agency, and is implementing several changes in response.
“I think she has failed in her duty to the fishermen,” Frank said. “She’s been the head of this agency for over a year, and this shouldn’t have had to come from the inspector general. This is something she should have done. And this was not just a few people misbehaving, this was the culture of this agency.”
This afternoon, Tierney had similar comments.