Marianas delegates call for probe of DoD funds spent in Marianas
Marianas delegates Gregorio Kilili Sablan (D-MP) and James C. Moylan (R-GU) along with Rep. Ed Case (D-HNL) have reached out to Department of Defense Inspector General calling for an investigation (among other services) regarding how DoD funds are being spent in the Marianas and the Indo-Pacific region.
In a letter addressed to DoD Inspector General Robert Storch last week, the congressmen essentially seeking answers regarding the department’s anti-fraud activities in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Congress and the American people depend on your important work to protect taxpayer funds. Your auditors, criminal investigations and other professionals save our government billions of dollars and hold countless individuals accountable for their actions,” said the letter.
The questions posed by the congressmen included what potential fraud risks has the DoDIG identified related to DoD dollars in the Pacific Islands region; what efforts has DoDIG taken to mitigate those risks; how often and in what locations has the DoDIG provide fraud awareness training in the Pacific Islands region over the last five years; what partnerships, if any, does DoDIG have with law enforcement officials in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or any other country in the Pacific Islands that carries high fraud risks for military dollars; and has DoDIG conducted any analysis into the potential need to assign investigative agents to the Pacific Islands region.
The congressmen state that the Inspector General’s expertise is needed now more than ever in Indo-Pacific as the DoD increases its spending in our nation’s priority theater, to include the Pacific Islands region.
“Our military is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Pacific Island locations that do easily lend themselves to the level of oversight our nation is accustomed to ensuring. For example, all the services are spending millions of dollars on campaigning activities, such as Operations Pathways, in foreign locations that do not have an understanding of our nations’ standards for accountability. There are also billions of dollars of infrastructure dollars that carry significant fraud risks. This includes the $7.3 billion of planned military construction in Guam, the millions being spent on Tinian, the roughly $500 million of airport improvements in the Federated States of Micronesia, a $120-million contract to build the structural foundation of a new U.S. Air Force radar station in the Republic of Palau, and the hundreds of millions that will be spent to build fuel tanks in the Republic of the Marshall Islands,” said the letter.
With the billions of dollars in investments in the Pacific Islands region, the congressmen said they believe it is critical to ensure the necessary fraud awareness training and investigations are conducted to protect these investments.
“This is difficult given that the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) has a limited presence in the Pacific Islands region. Currently, DCIS agents from the South Korea office travel to Guam—and presumably the ‘nearby’ Pacific Islands—on an as-needed basis. In an effort to better understand the DoDIG presence in the Pacific Islands and how we can help you to deter, investigate and prosecute fraud, we respectfully request a response to our questions no later than Aug. 30, 2024,” said the letter.
Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan
James Moylan
