The Interior Department should increase its use of videoconferencing, an Interior inspector general report has found.

The IG estimated Interior spent $42.4 million on travel in 2009 and lacks an official policy on the use of videoconferencing as an alternative to travel. Improving videoconferencing efforts would cut the department's travel costs as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report, which was released Dec. 20, 2011, and reported on Monday by Federal Computer Week.

Interior has 315 videoconferencing endpoints nationwide, with most concentrated in Denver; Anchorage, Alaska; and Washington. The equipment at these locations is not being used to its full potential due to low motivation and a lack of employee knowledge about its availability, according to the report.

Interior should craft an official policy for promoting videoconferencing, ensuring the equipment is compatible, and interconnecting throughout the department and aligning equipment to specific cities based on frequency of air travel, the IG recommended. The department also should post information on its internal website to increase awareness and encourage equipment sharing.

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October 6, 2011
The Washington Post
Robert O'Harrow Jr.,

Small government contractors often violate regulations by passing on most of the work and profits to large businesses, a practice that crowds out legitimate small businesses from the federal market, according to a House oversight panel Thursday.

“When a prime contract is set aside for a small business, the government wants to make sure that the small business is not simply a front for a large business, so the Small Business Act requires that the small business perform a certain percentage of the work,” said Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), chairman of the subcommittee on contracting and workforce.

The hearing focused on contracts in which government investigators have concluded that subsidiaries of Alaskan native corporations passed on the bulk of more than $1 billion worth of work to subcontractors.

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September 12, 2011
United States Attorney District of Alaska

Acting United States Attorney Kevin Feldis announced today that an Emmonak woman was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 12 months in prison for her conviction of stealing money from a tribal organization and ordered to pay restitution for the total amount stolen. Blanket was ordered to serve three years of supervised release after her prison term.

Blanket was the Tribal Administrator for the Chuloonawick Native Village (CNV) from 2004 to 2007, a tribal organization located in Emmonak, Alaska. During the course of Blanket’s employment with CNV, she stole approximately $100,000.

Mr. Feldis commended the Department of Interior, Office of Inspector General for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Kameroff and Blanket.

To read the full press release, click here .

August 9, 2011
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that on August 4, 2011, in Pierre, South Dakota, after a federal district court trial before U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange, DUANE DALE BIG EAGLE, a 61-year-old resident of Fort Thompson, South Dakota, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery of a tribal official and bribery involving an agent of an Indian tribal organization. Sentencing is set for October 24, 2011. He is currently released on special conditions.

Read the complete press release.