ADADThe inspector general substantiated some of the whistleblower’s claims, finding that staff referred to the agency as the “bank of BARDA” and told investigators that research and development funds were regularly tapped for unrelated projects, sometimes at “exorbitant” rates. The Obama administration’s top emergency-preparedness official, who was named in the report, defended the agency’s use of BARDA funds as appropriate. For instance, the inspector general flagged the assistant secretary’s office for not providing adequate details to Congress on how BARDA spent $517 million in “management and administrative” costs over a decade. “Because there were no specific details outlining what the M&A costs supported, we cannot determine whether the expenditures supported the BARDA mission,” the inspector general concluded. ADThe inspector general further found that between fiscal 2013 and 2017, BARDA paid $897,491 for the salaries of staffers who did not actually work for the agency.

Source: Washington Post January 27, 2021 16:31 UTC