Exclusive: U.S. lawmakers probe Treasury unit's hiring, will object to Obama nominee

Reuters ^ | June 3, 2014 3:51am EDT | EMILY FLITTER AND BRETT WOLF

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(Reuters) - Two powerful congressmen have opened separate inquiries into whether a Department of the Treasury bureau charged with policing money laundering may have flouted federal hiring rules, including regulations that require military veterans be given preference for government jobs.

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Reuters reported on May 2 that the Treasury had temporarily suspended FinCEN’s hiring authority and forced it to rescind 11 job offers after a federal government labor watchdog determined that the bureau had illegally screened candidates in a quest to hire only lawyers for certain positions.

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"The fact that FinCEN allegedly rejected pools of candidates made up of qualified veterans who met the criteria listed in the initial job postings effectively amounts to discrimination," Issa wrote in the letter. "If these allegations are true, FinCEN's actions are starkly at odds with this Administration's public proclamations supporting the hiring of veterans returning home from active duty."

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Grassley said in a statement to Reuters that in light of his and Issa's requests, the Treasury should make the documents they had requested available without delay.

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(Reporting by Brett Wolf of the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus in St. Louis and Emily Flitter in Washington; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Martin Howell)

Issa from California and Chuck Grassley from Iowa are taking the lead on this issue.

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I wouldn’t be surprised if their investigation showed that much of Federal Government is finding ways to discriminate against veterans so that the “disadvantaged” could be hired.