Today Congressman Walter B. Jones, Barney Frank and John Tierney questioned NOAA Fisheries Administrator Eric Schwaab about the status of hiring a new Director for the Office of Law Enforcement (OLE).
NOAA Fisheries has not found a permanent replacement since it removed former Director Dale Jones over a year ago.
Press reports also indicate that NOAA Fisheries recently reposted the job opening announcement without a requirement contained in prior announcements that the successful candidate has a bachelor's degree. Many have questioned this development considering that the job pays between $119,554 and $179,000 per year and involves leading a national force of over 200 agents with a budget of more than $50 million.
In a letter to Administrator Schwaab, Congressmen Jones, Frank and Tierney asked for the agency to produce the following information:
· a status report on the search for a new Director;
· an analysis of whether Directors of Law Enforcement at other federal agencies are required to have degrees; and,
· the educational credentials of the last three NOAA Fisheries OLE Directors.
A copy of the Congressmen's letter can be found here.