More Troubles at Los Alamos
The management of Los Alamos National Laboratory is being questioned again. See the story in today's Washington Post by my colleague Dana Hedgpeth.
The lab, one of the largest science centers in the world, came under fire not long ago for lax security after investigators discovered more than 1,000 pages of classified documents and computer storage devices in a personal trailer occupied by a subcontractor who once worked as an archivist at the lab.
Now the inspector general at the Department of Energy -- which has responsibility for Los Alamos -- is alleging that a contractor working under a deal worth up to nearly $800 million has systematically charged the government more for work than its estimates.
The report by IG Gregory H. Friedman says that KSL Services Joint Venture, which provides an array of maintenance and other services, charged the government more than its estimates about 75 percent of the time, "often by significant amounts."
Auditors found that the lab's work control system, known as PassPort, allowed charges to be added without the knowledge of lab officials. Such work, labeled "Other Costs" in the system, added up to $41 million last year.
"The Department of Energy, directly or indirectly, paid or will pay all of these charges, the source being taxpayer-provided funds," the Oct. 25 report said.
KSL Services Joint Venture was formed by Kellogg Brown and Root Inc., Shaw Infrastructure Inc., and Los Alamos Technical Associates Inc.
"The Office of Inspector General received multiple complaints alleging irregularities by KSL in cost estimating and charging of work orders. It was alleged that actual costs frequently exceeded estimated costs and that KSL often mischarged labor and materials," the report said. "Our work substantiated the allegations."
By Robert O'Harrow |
October 30, 2007; 6:59 AM ET
ffrdc
Previous: Anthrax, a Remedy and a Ticking Clock |
Next: Murtha, Politics and Money
Posted by: Greg | October 30, 2007 7:51 AM
NOT SURPRISED. It's why you can't trust your own government, military, insurance companies, and most everything else.
Posted by: keedrow | October 30, 2007 8:15 AM
Federal funds are stolen with impunity by Congress-- the source of a deficit starts in Congress, so it is financially irrelevant to downstream government organizations if they lose funds by fraud .This encourages abuse and corruption among program recipients in local federally subsidized programs. How can we be surprised when 780 billion dollars in contract fraud occurred last year?
If employees detect fraud they should be given 25% of the savings, otherwise, If political rhetoric continues between the parties, we won't be a nation much longer. Two hundred and ninety six constituencies in America are in violation of civil rights laws, especially election and voting discrimination. The petty accuse their counterparts, the "Blank Administration" or the "Blank Majority", is responsible for such and such; this is a ridiculous waste of time and money and frankly, dereliction of duty. The Congress is to make laws, not popular laws, not perfect, not naming post offices and libraries after the great leaders long gone.
The SCHIP Bill is not about who cares for children-- absurd we all hate children right? It is about federal subsidy of 296 corrupt custodians of the funds. It is an embargo by the federal government refusing to pay any money to any program until it is in compliance with civil rights and responsible for federal enforcement of classified information procedures act, exports of sensitive defense technologies, obedient in paying fines for 1,000 pages of secret data lost, all of it is the beginning of what James Madison described in a letter to Jefferson in 1789 about "a bill of rights", stating
"Perhaps too there may be a certain degree of danger, that a succession of artful and ambitious rulers may by gradual well timed advances, finally erect an independent Government on the subversion of liberty."
And taking liberty with Madison's thoughts and adding my own,
It is prudent to guard against caution and paralysis of analysis. Excessive precaution can do injury. At the same time I must own that I see a tendency in our federal Government to danger on that side of precaution in challenging the corrupt subordinate governments
who are both parents and children to the federation.
It has been remarked that there is a tendency in all Governments to an augmentation of power at the expense of liberty.
Until the abuses of liberty result in a sudden transition to an undue degree of power in my opinion applicable to the local Governments in America, it is a melancholy reflection that liberty should be equally exposed to danger whether the Government have too much or too little power, and that the line which divides these extremes should be by experience, clearly, visibly, enforced one against the other in peace not war.
Fools folly. It is a crack in the infrastructure, the fundamental process of government does not work. It is a dismal failure wherever we turn. How long does the nation expect to survive the onslaught of apathy and incompetence?
What is the solution? Stop the paralysis of analysis. One more study. One more report. One more year. I'm a little jaded lately. How is your confidence in our future?
Posted by: MichaelEHuang | November 2, 2007 10:09 AM
Blah blah blah...So why the waste of ink on this subject. Its buisness as usual. Nothing new here. And all the attention payed to it wont change a thing. All it really does is provide a soap box for some political hack wannabee. Wish it was not so but one thing for certain based on history... wishing for something to change is the only thing worth doing. Everything else is exercise in futility....
Posted by: Kevin | November 8, 2007 9:33 AM
Blame Al Gore & global warming.
Posted by: sawargos | November 12, 2007 5:34 PM
comment to MichaelEHuang,
I must agree with you on the waste of time and our money on checking each other on the fraud or down right theft, it seems from what I have seen it has jump bt a very large number since the Bush/Cheney admin. came to power, we didn't hear about a lot of it during the 1st 4 years when the committees where run by the Republican Congress, and a government that keeped all the records secret and no one allowed to see what was going on, we still can't find records of the 1st four years of this administration who awarded contracts to a certain few of their own and used the Justice department to keep the lid on. The abuses are now just coming to light thanks to some new people that were voted in to put a stop to this swamp. No sir don't blame anyone but the administration that was voted in 6 years ago and the Rebublican congress that let it run amuck by not overseeing the White House.
We have plenty of money to take care of the children in our country if not for the waste and abuse by the Bush White House.
Posted by: jim | November 16, 2007 12:20 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
The opinions of Los Alamos employees on this and other lab issues can be read at
http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com