Seem Be United States Senate COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS WASHINGTON, DC 20810-6025 Heather too Getunih inion incense Ips/9ppropritons senate go ianueS ESTER MOOITY STAN ETON October 31, 2017 Ms. Mary Kendall Deputy Inspector General U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms, Kendall: 1 continue to be concerned with the reassignment and relocation of Senior Executive Service (SES) ‘members at the Department of the Interior, without proper justification or cause. Upon learning about the SES reassignments, I sent a letter on July 11, 2017, requesting the Department of the Interior provide justification for the changes in order to better understand why these SES members were reassigned, To date, I have not received a response from the Department to my letter. I also understand that even some of the affected members of the staff who were moved have not been provide any justification or documentation as to why they were reassigned. I am including a copy of my inquiry as well as a related inquiry I made to the Department on this issue with other members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, from August 21, 2017. My concems about these SES staff changes at the Department—including the motivation behind them—have only increased with recent reporting that the Department’s Executive Resource Board, the intemal entity charged with making personnel decisions, is now comprised of only political appointees in contravention of the Office of Personal Management's recommendations. I understand that your office is currently investigating the SES moves, and I hope through your open investigation into the motives and nature of these staff reassignments, you can secure answers to the questions we have asked and help determine if these reassignments were conducted legally. As ranking member of the Subcommittee with oversight for the Department's appropriations, I respectfully ask that you keep me apprised of the results of your investigation, particularly in light of the fact that the Department itself has not been responsive. Thank you for your important work in providing oversight over the Department's stewardship of public assets and resources so we can most effectively manage our resources on behalf of the American people. Sineerely, Bm Vbate ‘Tom Udall Ranking Member Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies