Archive: February 22, 2009 - February 28, 2009
Bad Actors Still Get Government Contracts
One of the checks on federal contractors who misbehave by repeatedly overcharging, failing to deliver and such is government blacklist of sorts genteely known as the Excluded Parties List System. The idea is great. If you mess up and take advantage of the taxpayers in a fraudulent or egregious manner,...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 27, 2009; 9:46 AM ET | Comments (7)
Congress Wants Easier Way To Kill Weapons Systems
Two legislative warhorses have teamed up to try to do something that never gets done in Congress: making it easier to kill costly weapons systems. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and ranking Republican John McCain , introduced the bill two days before the anticipated release today...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 26, 2009; 7:08 AM ET | Comments (5)
Contractors: Boost Needed For Civil Servants Overseeing Stimulus
The Professional Services Council, which represents a wide array of government contractors, is worried. Though they embrace the need for massive spending to goose the economy, they're fretting about the ability of the federal workforce to properly manage what they call "this tsunami of funding." They have issued a white...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 25, 2009; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (6)
TARP Oversight, Transparency Still Needs Improvement
The folks at Treasury are flying blind when it comes to the many dollars they're spending on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known by the unfortunate acronym, TARP. That's the gist of testimony from GAO chief, Gene Dodaro. Speaking to the subcommittee on oversight and investigations of the House...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 25, 2009; 6:02 AM ET | Comments (2)
Department of Energy Loses Track of Radioactive Material
The Department of Energy has done a poor job of tracking nuclear materials it has loaned under licenses to contractors, educational institutions and other organizations, according to an investigation by DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman and his staff. In some cases, the department cannot say where where the heavily radioactive...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 24, 2009; 11:06 AM ET | Comments (6)
