Robert Cobb - NASA

Robert Cobb is Inspector General of NASA. According to whitehouse.gov: Most recently, Robert Cobb was an Associate Counsel to the President. Previously, he worked for almost nine years at the United States Office of Government Ethics. Prior to his Government service, he worked for five years as an associate attorney at Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver. Robert is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and George Washington University's National Law Center.

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Beleaguered NASA inspector general resigns

From: ap.org

NASA's beleaguered inspector general, Robert "Moose" Cobb, resigned Thursday.

Three U.S. senators — two Democrats and a Republican — two weeks ago urged Obama to oust Cobb, saying the inspector general "has been repeatedly accused of stifling investigations, retaliating against whistleblowers and prioritizing social relationships with top NASA officials over proper federal oversight."

In February, House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., urged Obama to get rid of Cobb as the watchdog for the $17 billion in NASA spending, saying: "NASA cannot afford another four years with an ineffective inspector general."

A federal audit this year found that Cobb saved taxpayers only 36 cents for every dollar he spent on investigations. The average for other inspectors general was $9.49. The Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative and auditing arm, found that Cobb's office "has generally not focused on audits with recommendations for improving the economy and efficiency of NASA's programs ... with potential monetary savings."

Two years ago, the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency issued a report saying that Cobb abused his authority and didn't appear independent enough from the agency he was investigating. One case involved whether to make public the theft of a ring from the remains of the space shuttle Columbia. Congressional leaders, who said Cobb was too subservient to the NASA administrator, had called for his resignation then, too, but it went unheeded.

In his brief resignation letter, Cobb did not say why he was resigning, effective Apr. 11. He said: "A new Inspector General will find an organization with extraordinarily talented employees dedicated to rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse and promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of NASA."

Cobb was appointed to the job in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Before that, he was an associate counsel to the president in the Bush White House, handling ethics issues. NASA referred questions to the White House.

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On the Net:

NASA Inspector General: http://oig.nasa.gov/Welcome.html

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