Chair Lee on impact of headcount cuts on ongoing investigations
Lee asks how the cuts will impact ongoing investigations. Shahada praises staff dedication but warns that years of doing more with less has reached a tipping point where triaging is no longer sufficient and DOI may have to decide which investigations it can and cannot open.
Sure.
I'll start by saying since I've been at DOI,
the past six weeks, I have been incredibly impressed by the hard work and dedication of every single staff member I've met with.
That being said, for years they have been asked to do more with less, and that takes a toll on morale and just, frankly, the ability to
make sure you're properly staffing every investigation you're working on.
They've done an amazing job, but at a certain point,
you get to a point where you have to make your triaging no longer is sufficient and you have to make decisions about what investigations you can and cannot open.