President Joe Biden’s administration should seek nearly $100,000 that a former government official was found to have improperly used, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said on Aug. 4.
Katherine Lemos was chairperson and CEO of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board when she illegally spent $97,835 on travel, training, and office items, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General.
That included improperly billing the government for 20 trips taken to Washington from California, the watchdog said.
Ms. Lemos, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, was officially based in Washington but actually lived in San Diego. She billed taxpayers nearly $55,000 for the trips, which were taken between April 26, 2020, and July 22, 2022.
Ms. Lemos “was not entitled to use government funds to pay for her travel between her residence in San Diego and her official duty station in Washington, D.C,” the watchdog said. “There is no basis for such expenditures in ... any other statutory or regulatory authority that the OIG has been able to identify.”
Ms. Lemos also illegally used government funds to travel for the embarkation of a naval aircraft carrier despite it not being official board business, improperly used funds to travel to Atlanta and Houston from San Diego, illegally spent more than $5,000 on office furniture, and improperly spent nearly $25,000 for personal training, the inspector general concluded.
Mr. Grassley said that in light of the findings, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be looking to recoup the money.
The illegal spending “illustrates clear disrespect to the taxpayer,” Mr. Grassley said in a letter to the agency.
“This violation of taxpayer resources and public trust cannot go unanswered. These misspent funds must be returned to reimburse taxpayers and deter future abuses,” the senator said in a statement.
The agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Lemos could not be reached.
More Details
Ms. Lemos told inspector general investigators she was told by a board staff member that it was normal for the board to cover an incoming chairperson’s travel until that person was settled to Washington, but the staff member said he or she did not recall such a conversation and Ms. Lemos could not point to any federal rule that supported the position. Still, no board staff members alerted Ms. Lemos that her travel was improper.A 2021 press release outlining the spending rules from PEER showed the taxpayer-funded travel was illegal but Ms. Lemos disregarded the release, telling investigators that her staff had told her the release contained “half-truths.”
Board staffers later asked the U.S. General Services Administration to weigh in, and the administration said there was no authority to fund the travel in question.
A lawyer for the board, though, falsely said that the administration “could not point to any guidance to suggest [that the] current position of the agency is improper.” Ms. Lemos proceeded to travel to Washington three more times.
Ms. Lemos also violated spending rules by using government funds to go to Norfolk, Virginia, to take part in the embarkation of a Navy carrier despite that not being official board business, as found by a board ethics official. Ms. Lemos proceeded to take the trip and spent four days and three nights in Norfolk. She told investigators that the purpose of the trip was to attend a “safety education meeting,” to interact with other safety professionals, and to learn from the Navy “leadership style.”
Ms. Lemos also went above a $5,000 cap for new office furniture, telling investigators the old items were “broken” and “non-functional.” Staffers disputed those characterizations, and images appeared to show the furniture was in fine condition. And Ms. Lemos used board funding for media training and executive coaching, despite not receiving approval, a violation of federal standards.
