September 30, 2002

2002 Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

I am pleased to submit the Office of Inspector General’s for the 6-month period ending September 30, 2002. The Report reflects our continuing commitment to focus the Office of Inspector General efforts on the issues and concerns most critical to you, the Administration, and the Congress. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, have impacted the way this Office views its mission. During this reporting period, we devoted significant resources to critical issues relating to the national security. In particular, we increased our already substantial commitment to helping the Department identify and evaluate potential systemic and situational vulnerabilities in the areas of cyber and physical security, counterintelligence, and nuclear materials and critical infrastructure protection. Although the Department has taken a number of positive actions to correct certain security-related deficiencies, our reviews continue to identify a need for improvement in this critical management challenge area.