The Oversight Committee's new Chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns, had his first hearing yesterday. The topic? "How Convicts and Con Artists Receive New Federal Contracts." I haven't seen anything on this topic before, but I saw an article this morning that shocked me (which is also how I found out about the hearing).
First, here is the article for those interested - Firms defraud government but get new US contracts. Please give it a read.
An excerpt from the article:
Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked in a hearing Thursday, "What is the point of having suspension and debarment regulations if our own agencies disregard them?"
Most contracts were awarded to excluded companies by mistake. However, the Army deliberately continued a contract with a German company, Optronic GmbH, whose president was convicted in Germany for attempting to illegally ship dual aluminum tubes to North Korea. The equipment can be used in the development of nuclear bombs.
The Army paid the company $31 million under the contract, including $4 million after it was placed on the exclusion list. The firm supplied civilians for training exercises for 7,000 U.S. troops prior to their deployment to Iraq.
In ruling that the company should not receive new contracts, the Army stated in July 2005 that the gravity of the conduct was clear, given that 37,000 U.S. forces were stationed on South Korean soil.
An Army official, in an interview, said the payments continued because the convicted president was removed from the company and the firm did an excellent job in its crucial role in the training exercises.
Big surprise right? The DOD offering up contracts to crooks, but I don't remember ever hearing anything about this. Do any of you?