Archive: March 29, 2009 - April 4, 2009
Northrop Satellite Case Settled
A long and complicated case over satellite parts came to an end for Northrop Grumman. The company, one of the Washington region's largest employers, agreed to pay $325 million to resolve allegations it provided and billed the National Reconnaissance Office for defective military satellite parts, according to the Justice...
By Dan Beyers | April 3, 2009; 11:35 AM ET | Comments (0)
Signs of Progress for Tracking Contract Work
It appears that some progress is being made in trying to keep better track of the work contractors do, oversight officials told Congressional leaders this week. "The Defense Department, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development are making progress toward better oversight of the contractors they hire," says a...
By Sara Goo | April 2, 2009; 11:52 AM ET | Comments (2)
As DoD Spending Soared, Fraud Referrals Dipped
"The number of defense contracting fraud and corruption cases sent by government investigators to prosecutors dropped precipitously under the Bush administration, even as contracting by the Defense Department almost doubled." That's the conclusion of a sharp review by Nick Schwellenbach of the Center For Public Integrity, the non-profit oversight group...
By Robert O'Harrow | April 1, 2009; 1:51 PM ET | Comments (2)
Report Card Mixed On Pentagon Weapons Spending, Deadlines
The latest report on weapons systems programs at the Pentagon offers some bright moments against a darker background. We should all be thankful for small blessings, even if we're feeling fussy about the rest. The good news from the report, by the GAO: Spending is actually lower -- a cool...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 31, 2009; 4:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
Stimulus Spending Stimulates Lobby Firms
"The $787 billion stimulus package -- along with an ambitious new federal budget, bank bailouts and the beginning of a regulatory overhaul -- has succeeded in stimulating the economy along Washington's avenue of influence. In the months since the November election, more than 2,000 cities, companies and associations have hired...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 30, 2009; 1:57 PM ET | Comments (4)
