The United States Information Agency gives many indications of being an agency
financially out of control. I am enclosing two letters I have sent Mr. Charles
Wick regarding hiring and other practices at USIA, and request a GAO investigation
of the issues raised in these letters. It is of particular concern to me that
unqualified persons may be assigned to domestic and overseas USIA positions merely
on the basis of personal connections with high-ranking administration officials.
As part of the investigation, I would appreciate special attention being paid to
the use of consultants and government-paid travel by USIA. I have been informed
that a number of USIA consultants are "no-shows," who may have been paid for days
they were not in the office and for work not actually done, and that funds for travel
on official business may have been abused.

In order to define the parameters of the investigation, an early meeting with your
staff would be helpful. Following that, I would like to request periodic consultations
with your staff, as the situation warrants, to review the progress of your study.
I also request that I be informed of any difficulties which your staff may encounter
with access to information, as soon as such difficulties arise.

With best wishes,

Sipcerely

Edward Zoripsky

United States Senato

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RESPONSE OF USIA DIRECTOR CHARLES Z. WICK TO THE MAY 12, 1983, LETTER FROM THE HONORABLE EDWARD ZORINSKY

United States

Information

Agency

Washington, D.C. 20547

Director

Dear Senator Zorinsky:

May 31, 1983

This is in reply to your letter of May 12, asking additional questions about staffing and other matters concerning the U.S. Information Agency. As I had indicated in my interim reply of May 20, I agree that the previous response to your inquiries was not adequate. I wish to respond here in a constructive spirit and as fully as possible to your questions. I appreciate the helpfulness of your staff, specifically Mr. C. Grayson Fowler and Mr. Arthur S. Jeager, in concurring in our taking the time to develop fully all of the information necessary in submitting this letter. I believe we have used the time well.

Upon my return on April 28 from an official visit to USIA posts in the Far East, I had hoped to meet with you personally to discuss these matters. Unfortunately your busy schedule did not permit this. I still would like to have an opportunity to meet with you to discuss Agency matters more fully, should your time permit.

The questions you raise are appropriate ones. You have pointed to some management problems in the Agency. I have taken prompt action both to investigate and correct them.

Below, following the chronological order of your letter of May 12, are your questions (indicated as "Q") and my answers (indicated as "A"). Also enclosed is a set of tabs providing background documents referred to in this letter. tabs index is found at the front of these exhibits.

A

Q: Page 1, line 3; "I asked to see the resumes of the political appointees named in my letter as well as those of their immediate predecessors...The predecessor's resumes will allow me to judge whether the political appointees are indeed providing qualifications not available in the professional service."

A: The resumes are enclosed at (Tabs 1 to 8) and are discussed herein in
response to your specific questions.

The Honorable

Edward Zorinsky

Committee on Foreign Relations

United States Senate

USIA

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only

Insofar as political appointments are authorized by OPM, we seek the best qualified noncareer candidates. I would point out that USIA, when staffing a position with an "authorized" noncareer candidate, is not obliged first to seek candidates from the professional service. However, I would certainly agree that in all cases career and noncareer highly qualified personnel should be selected. I hope you would agree that USIA can benefit from the contributions of qualified noncareer individuals properly placed, while still drawing on the talented corps of career officers to fill the overwhelming majority of positions both overseas and in Washington.

Q: Page 1, line 9; "Mr. Robinson's contention that these resumes are official personnel files which should not be made available to Congress is utterly without merit."

A: I agree with you. I am enclosing the resumes and employment summaries of:

Q:

-

Ms. Monica Clark
Ms. Anne Collins
Ms. Barbara Haig
Ms. Jody Zolinski
Mr. Daniel Wattenberg

-

(Tab 2 a and b)
Tab 3 a and b)
(Tab 4 a and b

-

Mr. Caspar Weinberger, Jr.

(Tab 5 a and b)

Also enclosed in response to your request, as quoted above, for their predecessors' resumes -- are biographic sheets (Tab 7) on Christopher Snow, who upon completion of his tour of duty in London will be replaced as Cultural Affairs Officer by Ms. Collins, and (Tab 8) on Mark Taplin, who is now serving in Haiti and would have been replaced on his normal departure by Ms. Zolinski. (Biographic sheets are the equivalent of resumes for Foreign Service Officers.)

Msses. Clark and Haig, and Messrs. Wattenberg and Weinberger, Jr. were considered for new positions, and therefore have no predecessors.

I would mention here that Mr. Weinberger, Jr. resigned from USIA on May 16, 1983. Ms. Zolinski has withdrawn her application for employment and will not be joining the Agency as detailed hereinafter.

Page 1, line 21 of your earlier letter of April 15 had requested "the names, job descriptions and resumes of any other relatives of political appointees of this Administration who have been hired by USIA since January 20, 1981."

A: We have no record of any other relatives of Administration appointees having served in professional-level positions. However, our records

search identified seven persons who have served as temporary junior clerical employees in grades GS-1 through 5. Their names are listed below along with their individual tab numbers which indicate where their Forms 171, Personal Qualifications Statements, are enclosed:

Susan DeLorenzo, niece of Robert C. McFarlane of the NSC, GS-4, annual salary $11,490 (Tab 9)

John Gergen, nephew of David Gergen of the White House, GS-4, annual salary $11,490 (Tab 10)

Julia James, daughter of E. Pendleton James, then White House

staff, GS-2, annual salary $9,381 (Tab 11)

James K. Malone, son of Asst. Sec. of State James Malone, GS-5, annual salary $13,369 (Tab 12)

Lauren McFarlane, daughter of Robert C. McFarlane of the NSC, GS-4,
salary $11,490 (Tab 13)

Melissa McFarlane, also the daughter of Robert C. McFarlane of the
NSC, GS-1, annual salary $8,342 (no Tab, see comment below)
Victoria San juan, daughter of Asst. Sec. of Interior Pedro

San juan, GS-1, annual salary $8,342 (Tab 14)

All of these individuals except James Malone and Lauren McFarlane were summer clerical employees for two to three months in the summer of 1982. Mr. Malone is serving on a 12-month temporary clerical appointment that expires on June 26, 1983. Ms. McFarlane worked in the Office of Public Liaison from September through December 1982, when she returned to Wesleyan University.

We do not have a copy of Ms. Melissa McFarlane's Form 171 in our personnel file covering her period of service with USIA. Ms. McFarlane was a GS-1 clerk-typist for three months last summer and left in September 1982 to attend Northwestern University.

Q: Page 1, line 14; "Because you have not provided the resumes, I cannot be certain the information provided by USIA on some of the appointees is fully accurate. For example, is Mr. Daniel Wattenberg a graduate of Columbia College, or a senior expected to graduate this spring?"

A: Yes, he is now a graduate. At the time of your letter of May 12 he had not yet graduated. Mr. Wattenberg received his degree from Columbia University at the commencement exercise held on May 17, 1983, although he completed his course work last January and has been working for the past two months as a copyboy for the New York Times. His employment summary is at (Tab 5 a).

While we are pleased to answer fully your questions as to Mr. Wattenberg and have done so, I do not believe that his employment is precisely within the purview of your inquiry involving appointments of individuals affiliated in some manner with the current Administration. Daniel

Wattenberg's father, Ben Wattenberg, Democrat, is not politically

affiliated with this Administration. He was appointed last year to the Board for International Broadcasting for a Democrat slot in a bipartisan appointment as mandated by Congress.

Q: Page 1, line 17; "Is it true that Ms. Zolinski's only previous employment has been as a waitress, cashier, hostess, and restaurant manager?"

A: Yes.

Q: Page 1, line 19; "Aside from a college degree and an internship at the U.N., does she have any employment experience to qualify her for the Haiti post?"

A: No. Her resume is at (Tab 4 b).

Q: Page 1, line 20; "Does USIA consider a college degree and an internship at the U.N. sufficient credentials for a Cultural Affairs Officer?"

A: Yes, in some cases such as this. The position in Haiti is a junior
one which does not require prior experience. It is currently held by a
junior officer with limited prior experience, in that upon his assignment
to Haiti he had been in the Foreign Service, as a trainee, for 18 months.
Like all junior officers, he will remain on probation until he has
completed four years. Haiti also is a "greater hardship post" (a term we
use to designate posts which are difficult to fill). When Ms. Zolinski
was considered for the post, the Director of Personnel indicated that
there were no appropriate career bidders for that position known to her at
that time. There were two career employees who had indicated an interest
in the Haiti assignment. One of them was applying prior to that
individual's effective date of availability. This would be "out of
cycle," which the Agency rarely permits because it increases our moving
and tranfer costs through requested transfers prior to the normal
expiration of a tour of duty.

The other was also applying "out of cycle" and was already being considered for another post in the correct time frame. Later, as you will note in my comments below, another candidate became available and was given the assignment.

Q: Page 1, line 22; "I would also like to know how long Ms. Zolinski served in her internship and, since Mr. Robinson says she studied French, what her tested level of proficiency is."

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