DHS inspector general competing for acquisition personnel.

• Position: SECURITY BEAT

* "Acquisition oversight is a priority of my office," Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner recently said to members of Congress.

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Like other government agencies, the (department is spending more funds on the procurement of goods and services. Meanwhile, contract specialists who are needed to monitor these activities to prevent waste, fraud and abuse are harder to find.

Just as agency procurement offices across the government face a shortage of experienced staff, so do offices of the government's inspector generals, Skinner told an ad hoc Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affair's subcommittee on contracting oversight.

"We need a mix of auditors, inspectors and investigators with acquisition experience. Unfortunately, we compete for these resources with the very same offices for which we have oversight responsibilities."

With a pressing need to spend DHS' portion of the $787 billion...