Conservative critics of Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich have latched onto a report from the Inspector General's office at the Department of Homeland Security that criticized the state's management of $61.6 million in grant money.
The Washington Examiner suggested the report could pose a "stumbling block for Kasich's possible 2016 presidential run," and
Breitbart said the report challenged Kasich's "supposed administrative prowess."
The Nov. 7, 2014, report finds that "Ohio needs to improve its performance measures, the accounting for grant funds, the timeliness of releasing funds to subgrantees, and its monitoring of subgrantees, including their procurement and property management practices."
While the Inspector General's (IG) report does not mention Kasich by name, it says that the steps taken since he came into office in 2010 do not insure that "Ohio effectively managed" the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant money it distributed to counties and localities for fiscal years 2010 through 2012.
The monitoring issues predate the Kasich administration, with two earlier audits by the DHS IG raising to similar concerns. The IG also noted that "FEMA has not changed its oversight practices to target Ohio's areas of repeated deficiencies."
It was up to Ohio to put into place "objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-limited" in order for the federal government to assess how well the state could deal with emergencies, such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks, according to the IG report.
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Ohio Emergency Management Agency, which reports to Kasich, is tasked with administering the DHS grants. The agency maintains that it has been providing necessary oversight of the monies distributed, the IG's reported noted.
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