House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) has asked the Interior Department's inspector general to testify next week on her involvement in a 2010 report that incorrectly said a panel of scientists supported an offshore drilling moratorium.

The hearing is the latest in the panel's probe into whether officials purposely altered the 2010 report to buttress Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's drilling moratorium in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The report originally claimed scientists supported a temporary moratorium when they did not; Interior quickly fixed the mistake and sent apologies to the scientists.

In recent months, Hastings also has accused Interior acting IG Mary Kendall of helping draft the report, which she later investigated. Kendall has said she only attended information-gathering sessions (Greenwire, May 23).

Republican Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and John Cornyn of Texas have also asked the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to look into Kendall's investigation into the moratorium report. Her office found no conclusive evidence that Interior officials intentionally doctored the document.

In a letter to Kendall today, Hastings asked her to be prepared to answer questions "on your role in overseeing the operations and actions" of the IG office. Specifically, the panel plans to ask about the IG's investigation into the moratorium report, its response to a committee subpoena, the "independence and effectiveness of an Inspector General in an Acting Capacity," and Kendall's previous testimony to the committee.

"It is important for an Inspector General to be independent and hold an Administration accountable," Hastings said in a statement. "This hearing will focus on legitimate questions involving the Acting Inspector General's actions, including the thoroughness of the investigation into President Obama's Gulf Drilling Moratorium Report, subpoena compliance, and related decisions."

The hearing is set for 10 a.m. Aug. 2. Kendall's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.