The House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent a letter to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg Thursday to raise concerns over the agency’s gathering of internal communications from its office of inspector general amid a cybersecurity investigation.
Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) told Gruenberg in a letter published Thursday they want information on how FDIC protects communications between employees of the agency and its OIG.
The committee found that FDIC withheld more than 880 pages of OIG documents from the committee and did not comply with the panel’s request to conduct an “extensive” search of all agency records as part of a congressional probe into breach incidents at the agency, according to Smith and Loudermilk.
The two congressmen said these moves raise concerns on whether the FDIC OIG can work independently and if the agency attempts to circumvent congressional oversight.
Smith and Loudermilk added FDIC’s use of watermarks on the committee materials poses questions on the agency’s protection of its sources and compliance with the Whistleblower Protection Act.
They asked FDIC to submit information on its measures to protect whistleblowers and OIG communications by Monday noon.
