From the Associated Press
The largest Homeland Security Department contractors include two companies which paid millions to settle charges they defrauded the Pentagon (news - web sites), one firm which paid a foreign corruption fine and a business accused of botching a computer system for veterans hospitals, records show.
About a quarter of the $2.5 billion awarded to the 50 largest Homeland Security contractors came under no-bid contracts, agency records show. That's lower, however, than the 44 percent of Pentagon contracts given under "other than full and open competition."
The rest of the money paid to the top contractors -- a bit more than $2 billion -- was for contracts awarded through competition, the records show. Some of the nation's largest federal contractors have won the new business of protecting America from terrorists, including many with a recent history of legal run-ins with the government, the records show.
The two companies with the most business -- nearly $700 million between them -- were Boeing Co. and Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a partnership of defense giants Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Those companies have paid more than $250 million in the past three years to settle charges of improprieties with their Pentagon contracts. Homeland Security audits also have accused the two companies of overcharging, in Boeing's case by $49 million.
(snip)
Homeland Security's biggest contractor this year, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, is upgrading and expanding the Coast Guard's fleet of ships, boats, airplanes and helicopters.
Clark Kent Ervin, the department's inspector general, said in a report that hiring ICGS to install new engines in HH-65 helicopters would take longer and cost more than if the Coast Guard did the work itself.
The original ICGS proposal for the project was a month late and included "$123 million worth of goods and services that the Coast Guard did not ask for and could not afford," Ervin's report said.
The Coast Guard defended the contract, telling Ervin it believes the program is properly managed. ICGS spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell-Jones said the company agreed.
A few points
There are some services that only a few companies can provide. For example, only a few manufacturers can build high-tech fighter planes. So, to a certain extent, it makes sense there are at least a limited number of bidders for these contracts.
However, it would also seem logical that companies with a limited product market would be prone to exaggerating their contracts with the Federal government to increase their profits. These companies should require more oversight of their contracts.
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