It didn’t exactly make big headlines, but the US Senate last week took what could be a significant step toward addressing the alleged mismanagement, fraud and cronyism that appears rampant around contracting and the Iraq War.
The Senate unanimously approved a provision sponsored by U.S. Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and their seven Senate Democratic freshman colleagues to establish an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The proposed commission would assess the extent of fraud, mismanagement, waste and misuse associated with military contracts as well as the policies, procedures, processes and performance of those contracts. The commission could also help answer critical questions about the advisability of the move to increasingly depend on civilian contractors hired to perform wartime functions.
The New York Times recently reported that $6 billion in military contracts to provide food water and shelter to American troops was under review by criminal investigators. An additional $88 billion in contracts are being audited for financial irregularities. And in 2005, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) found that nearly $9 billion in funds for Iraq was unaccounted
In addition, federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating charges that a private American security firm operating in Iraq, Blackwater USA, smuggled weapons into Iraq and sold them to groups designated by the United States as terrorist organizations. Blackwater personnel are also under investigation for a shootout that resulted in the death of 11 Iraqis.
This alleged behavior by an American contractor, and the astounding lack of accountability for billions of taxpayer dollars on the part of the Pentagon has outraged the public. Now Congress seems to be noticing. A similar bill has been introduced in the US House, and Common Cause and other watchdog groups that support the proposal will continue to watch and push for passage.
It is long past time to establish this commission that will significantly increase transparency and accountability, and address longstanding, systemic problems with defense contracting by studying and investigating the impact of the government’s growing reliance on civilian contractors to perform wartime functions.
We will be watching.