From Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/claire-mccaskill-wartime-contracting-senate_n_2245135.html?1354748496&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a sweeping overhaul on Tuesday of the U.S. government’s wartime contracting procedures, the largest such reform in decades. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Mo.) amendment, included in the national defense bill, is aimed at improving oversight and cracking down on the rampant waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars in contracting practices.
“While these wars wind down, we can’t lose the urgency to correct these mistakes and prevent them from being repeated in the future,” said McCaskill in a statement. “Protecting taxpayer dollars isn’t the flashiest issue. But it’s a promise I made to Missourians, and it’s something I pledge to continue fighting for, with dogged determination, until this legislation is signed into law.”
Wartime contracting was not the headline issue in McCaskill’s recent Senate race, where she spoke out on the reproductive rights of women after her opponent, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), made his infamous remark about “legitimate rape.” But the topic is near and dear to the heart of McCaskill, who was previously Missouri state auditor.
McCaskill has been leading a six-year effort to crack down on wartime contracting abuses. For example, there was the $345 million spent on health centers in Iraq that went largely unused. There was also the $300 million the United States spent on building the Tarakhil Power Plant in Afghanistan, without considering whether the country would be able to afford the expensive fuel to run the plant.
Last year, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan — which was created by McCaskill and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) in 2007 — concluded that up to $60 billion in U.S. taxpayer money has been squandered in contract waste and fraud in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The committee cited “ill-conceived” projects, “poor planning and oversight” by the government, “poor performance” by contractors, as well as “criminal behavior and blatant corruption.”
Continue reading at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/claire-mccaskill-wartime-contracting-senate_n_2245135.html?1354748496&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
