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| Subject: where some more of it goes | |
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Author: Bev |
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Date Posted: 21:45:02 07/18/07 Wed In reply to: Oropan 's message, "Better check the facts" on 15:41:44 07/18/07 Wed Pentagon approves disputed Iraq costs Almost two-thirds of contracts questioned by auditors allowed By Matt Kelley USA TODAY The Pentagon approves disputed costs on Iraq contracts at a much higher rate than on military contracts as a whole, Defense Department records show. Through last October, almost two-thirds of costs challenged by Pentagon auditors as inflated, erroneous or otherwise improper — more than $1 billion — were eventually approved by project managers. That compares with 44% for all defense contracts in 2005. The low rate of withholding payments to Iraq contractors is evidence the Pentagon is turning a blind eye to waste and fraud, says Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who has chaired several hearings into Iraq reconstruction problems for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. "I would have thought they would be apoplectic and furious about how they've been taken to the cleaners by some of these contractors," Dorgan said of Pentagon officials. "Some areas of the Pentagon seem to think, 'We're at war. What's a little waste?' " Linda Theis, a spokeswoman for the Army office overseeing the largest contract in Iraq, said payments of questioned costs often happen when the contractor provides evidence justifying the spending. "Sometimes the contractor is able to provide additional information or rationale to convince the contracting officer to include the cost in the estimate, and sometimes they do not," Theis wrote in an e-mail to USA TODAY. Contracting officers often gave more weight to companies' justifications for costs in Iraq because they were operating in a war zone, the head of the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), William Reed, testified at a congressional hearing in February. "I am satisfied they are fairly considering our recommendations," Reed said of Pentagon contract managers. The audit agency provided documents detailing costs challenged on contracts in Iraq to USA TODAY under the Freedom of Information Act. The records show auditors have questioned $4 billion, or about 10%, of the $38.5 billion in Iraq reconstruction spending as of October. Contracting officers hadn't made final decisions on about $2.3 billion of that amount. Here's how it works: Auditors review contract proposals and invoices for possible problems. They can recommend cutting proposed costs, withholding payments or temporarily blocking payments. Contract managers make the final decision, usually after they investigate and document their reasoning in writing. The decisions are final and can't be challenged by the auditors. Page 1A [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: where some more of it goes | Oropan | 05:43:55 07/19/07 Thu |
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