Panel Hears Sharp Criticism of Pendleton

The Civil Rights Commission and its chairman, San Diego resident Clarence E. Pendleton Jr., came under blistering attack Tuesday from Democrats and civil rights activists armed with a new government audit that details “irregularities” in hiring, questionable travel, poor record-keeping and failure to account for $175,000 budgeted to the panel.

In a hearing of the House Judiciary subcommittee on civil and constitutional rights, Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) accused the commission of “throwing away taxpayers’ money on illegal, self-promoting and wasteful items.”

Subcommittee Chairman Don Edwards (D-San Jose) called the hearing to address what he called “shocking problems” at the commission. “This mismanagement helps explain why the commission’s fact-finding activity has virtually ceased,” he said.

Similarly, Phyllis McClure, director of the Washington office for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the audit by the General Accounting Office “confirmed my worst fears” about the commission, which she said has tried to reverse its historical role as advocate for the oppressed.

The GAO report portrays the commission as a shoddy organization run by a chairman, Pendleton, who lobbies and travels extensively and who last year billed the commission for $67,344--making his post a virtual full-time job.

The report said that Pendleton was paid for 233 days in each of 1983 and 1984 and for 240 days last year, amounting to $188,000 for the three years and constituting an “almost full-time level of billings” for what was “thought to be part-time” work.

But Pendleton, who has incurred the wrath of fellow blacks because of his conservative views, said in an interview: “They got nothing and they want to hype it. There may be some things you got to clean up but there’s nothing in the report that’s illegal.”

J. Al Latham Jr., the commission staff director, agreed, saying in an interview that “it’s not as though any money is missing.”

In testimony before the House panel, William J. Anderson, director of the GAO’s general government division, did not say that Pendleton or any of the other seven commissioners broke any laws.

However, he testified that the GAO found a broad range of “irregularities,” including what he called “unusually bad” record-keeping, and said his agency will continue investigating the commission.

The GAO report was requested by Edwards and three other members of Congress. It covers the period from October, 1982, to January, 1986. Among its findings:

- $175,000 in “unidentifiable costs.” The money was part of a larger sum shifted between accounts to conduct a hearing. In the interview, Latham said that the expenditure can be attributed to “legitimate government expenses of the commission” but gave no further details.

- Questionable payments by outside sources for commissioners’ travel. Pendleton’s vouchers showed that “other sources” paid for his travel or lodging during 45 of the 117 trips he took over four years. In most cases, he failed to identify the sources. Such payments are not authorized unless they come from nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations.

- Weakened effectiveness of state advisory committees, which historically have identified civil rights problems and proposed solutions.

- “Indications of irregularities” in records on 31 consultants, such as failure to list duties and responsibilities in personnel files as required by the Office of Personnel Management.

The GAO also said that Pendleton’s special assistant, Sydney Novell, billed the commission for an unusually high amount for expenses. She, like Pendleton, commutes between San Diego and Washington.

In the interview, Pendleton said that there was “nothing improper or illegal” in the billings. “I think what the committee would like me to do is spend less time on the job and be less effective. It’s no question in my mind that it’s all political.”

In a related matter, an official at the Small Business Administration said the agency is investigating Pendleton and Novell, who are partners in a consulting firm. The official said that the probe centers on “that whole Novell situation,” which involves a non-competitive contract that Pendleton arranged for her when he was chairman of a federally funded San Diego firm that handles Small Business Administration loans.

The new problems of the rights commission inspired some of its critics to renew calls for dismantling it. That idea was supported by some Democrats last year but failed to gain steam.

“How can we explain to our constituents the fact that we give this sleazy outfit $12 million a year to waste?” Schroeder asked.