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COMMISSION ON WARTIME CONTRACTING
The unprecedented level of privatization of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan left tens of billions of taxpayer dollars exposed to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Since taking office in 2007, I have been successful in placing new oversight mechanisms in place to fix the systemic deficiencies that exist in inter-agency wartime contracting, thus achieving greater accountability.
In January 2008, Congress and the White House approved one such measure that I introduced with Senator Claire McCaskill to establish a bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting. Modeled after the Truman Committee of World War II, the Commission examined the impact of the government’s growing reliance on civilian contractors to perform wartime functions. The Commission held hearings and investigated contracting issues involving both the Department of Defense and the Department of State, including the transfer of responsibility for U.S. operations in Iraq.
In August 2011, the Commission completed its efforts and presented its final report (which is available here). The Commission estimated that waste and fraud have amounted to between $31 and $60 billion during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The final report also warns that additional waste may occur if host countries do not sustain U.S.-funded projects and programs after the U.S. hands them over or reduces its support.
The Secretary of Defense has already taken steps to address time-sensitive concerns outlined in an interim Commission report in 2009.The Commission’s final report makes additional recommendations, including:
• improving federal planning for use of contracts,These recommendations will be listened to and, when appropriate, acted on by the United States Congress.
• strengthening contract management and oversight,
• expanding competition,
• improving interagency coordination, and
• modifying or canceling U.S.-funded projects that host nations cannot sustain.
This is the way that Congressional commissions should work. It was bipartisan, high energy, and comprised of highly qualified people who were brought in for a specific period of time on this sunsetted commission and who will continue to maintain significant roles in the community now that the Commission has done its work.
The Commission has significantly increased transparency and accountability and will potentially save taxpayers billions of dollars in addition to savings already achieved by corrective action taken at the Department of Defense.
MATERIALS & RESOURCES
Official website of the Commission on Wartime ContractingBackground Information and Chronology Summary
Audio of Webb/McCaskill Conference Call on Legislation
Audio of Senator Webb’s floor speech after Passage