Phyllis K. Fong (Biography)
Phyllis K. Fong was sworn in as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on December 2, 2002.

The Office of Inspector General was legislatively established in 1978 with the enactment of the Inspector General Act (Public Law 95-452). The act requires the Inspector General to independently and objectively:

• Perform audits and investigations of the Department's programs and operations;
• Work with the Department's management team in activities that promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness or that prevent and detect fraud and abuse in programs and operations, both within USDA and in non-Federal entities that receive USDA assistance;
• Report OIG activities to the Secretary and the U.S. Congress semiannually as of March 31 and September 30 each year;

We accomplish this mission by:

• investigating allegations of fraud and abuse;
• using preventive audit approaches, such as reviews of systems under development;
• conducting audits of the adequacy and vulnerability of management and program control systems; and
• auditing the adequacy of large USDA payments, such as insurance and deficiency payments, major loans, and retailer food stamp redemptions.

OIG is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has regional offices located in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Oakland, California; and Temple, Texas. Our Financial and ADP Operations sub-office is located in Kansas City, Missouri.

We emphasize service to management at all levels of the Department by briefing senior Department officials on major audits and investigations. We also work proactively with agency managers, as part of a united team, by directly encouraging management input into the audit and investigative process to help solve difficult problems impacting program management and operations. As a member of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), we participate with other Inspectors General in multi-agency projects where the issues are crosscutting and need to be addressed Government-wide.

Last Modified: 01/06/2012