Environmental and Workplace Safety are Crucial Elements of Contractor Responsibility

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has presented its findings on the April 2011 explosion and fire at the Waikele storage bunker in Hawaii that killed five people handling illegal fireworks seized by federal authorities. The five men were performing this work for a Treasury Department subcontractor, Donaldson Enterprises, Inc.

POGO makes comment on Contractor Compliance Program and Integrity Reporting

POGO supports contractor compliance program and integrity reporting, but the proposed rule’s mandatory reporting requirement must be clarified and expanded to require contractors to disclose a broader array of unethical conduct.

Company Hit By Chinese Hackers Still a Trusted Fed Supplier

U.S. defense contractor QinetiQ North America got picked clean by Chinese hackers, but the government still awards the company contracts.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again…and Again…and Again

For the fourth time since 2007, Congress will try to pass a measure that will prevent companies and individuals who owe taxes from being awarded federal contracts.

Afghanistan Incinerators Burn Money, Not Trash

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that the government wasted $5 million on an unused solid waste incineration system on Forward Operating Base Salerno. The base continues to dispose of its solid waste in dangerous open-air burn pits.

Defense Contracting Competition in Free-Fall

Although the Department of Defense has recently been making a concerted effort to increase competition in its acquisition of goods and services, a new GAO report finds that competition in defense contracting has been in steady decline over the last 5 years.

Fluor Pays $1.1M to Settle Hanford False Claims Case

Department of Energy contractor Fluor paid $1.1 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the company of violating the False Claims Act by improperly using federal funds for lobbying.

Army Corps Stands By Its Sweetheart Deal With DynCorp

The Army Corps of Engineers stands by its decision to allow DynCorp International to walk away from a botched construction job in Afghanistan.

DOE Watchdog Sniffs Out More Waste at National Labs

In a new report, the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General found that the agency had improperly awarded salary increases for several executive employees of the contractor overseeing cleanup at the Oak Ridge nuclear facility.

POGO Celebrates Sunshine Week with Expanded Misconduct Database

POGO updates its Federal Contractor Misconduct Database with 12 new contractors and a new top 100 federal contractor ranking.

SIGIR Says “At Least” $8 Billion Lost in Iraq

The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), which sunsets this month, said the government has no idea how billions of reconstruction dollars were spent over the past decade, and estimates that at least $8 billion has been lost to fraud, waste, and abuse.

Did Blackwater Graymail Lead to a Whitewash?

Last week's surprising conclusion of the firearms prosecution of the company formerly known as Blackwater has many wondering if federal contractors have become too powerful.

Issa Proposes Contractor Responsibility Reforms

Representative Issa's proposal to overhaul the suspension and debarment system generates mixed reactions.

Should SIGAR Have Suspension and Debarment Power?

While the government considers whether to grant SIGAR suspension and debarment powers, dozens of companies and individuals suspected of aiding terrorists in Afghanistan remain eligible to receive U.S. taxpayer money.

Are FEMA Debt Collectors Too Easy on the Big Easy?

New Inspector General report finds flaws in FEMA procedures to recover improper disaster relief payments.

Company Behind Fireworks Disaster Still a Fed Contractor

A company blamed this week for a fatal fireworks explosion is still eligible to receive federal contracts.

Army of One ... Contractor

Don't like competing for contracts? Head to the Department of Defense, which routinely awards contracts where it solicited or received only one bid.

Gallup Fraud Probe Nabs Ex-FEMA Official

Federal prosecutors charged former FEMA official Timothy Cannon with a felony conflict of interest charge for helping The Gallup Organization win contracts while seeking a job with the company.

POGO Obtains Army ‘Compelling Reason’ Memos

POGO obtained internal Pentagon memos explaining why the Army repeatedly waived the suspension of a contractor accused of defrauding the government.

SIGAR Probing Army Corps Deal with DynCorp

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has opened an investigation into why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allowed DynCorp International to walk away from a bungled construction job.

Government Fraud Recoveries Would Make "Honest Abe" Proud

The federal government has recovered another $5 billion of taxpayer money that otherwise would have been lost to fraud.

BP Suspension: What’s Behind Door Number Two?

Despite having several other companies from which it can purchase fuel, whichever company the Pentagon chooses to replace BP with will likely pose as great a responsibility risk.

Government Makes Opinion Heard in Contract Fraud Case

The government last week filed a complaint in a whistleblower lawsuit accusing The Gallup Organization of overbilling the federal government by millions of dollars and violating federal ethics laws.

EPA Sends a Message With BP Suspension

The EPA’s suspension of BP sends a message to all federal contractors, large and small, that they will be held accountable for their misconduct.

KBR November Litigation Round-Up

Despite a seemingly endless parade of legal troubles for KBR involving its Iraq logistics support work, the company remains a favored federal contractor.

Fluor Whistleblower Draws “First Blood”

The Department of Justice joined a False Claims Act lawsuit accusing large contractor Fluor Corporation of illegal lobbying.

Government Sues Triple Canopy for Iraq Contract Fraud

The federal government joined a whistleblower lawsuit alleging private security contractor Triple Canopy used hundreds of foreign nationals without proper firearms training to guard a U.S. airbase in Iraq.

SIGAR Slams Army Corps for Letting DynCorp Walk Off the Job

A new SIGAR report criticizes the Army Corps of Engineers for failing to hold contractor DynCorp International accountable for deficiencies in its construction of an Afghan Army garrison.

Lawsuit Alleges "The Most Trusted Name in Polling" Violated the Public Trust

The Department of Justice has joined a whistleblower lawsuit accusing opinion polling services company The Gallup Organization of committing a multi-million dollar fraud on contracts with the U.S. Mint, the State Department, and other federal agencies.

McCaskill, Webb Introduce Wartime Contracting Legislation that Could Save Taxpayers Billions

Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) have introduced the Comprehensive Contingency Contracting Reform Act of 2012 (S. 2139), a bill that will greatly enhance transparency, sustainability, and accountability in overseas contingency operation contracting by the Department of Defense (DoD), the State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Two Former Watchdogs Ring in the New Year on the Other Side of the Revolving Door

Welcome to another episode of "As the Washington Revolving Door Turns." The two latest ex-government officials to land jobs with private companies formerly served as very high-profile watchdogs of those companies.

The Return of Aaron Barr: Victim of Embarrassing Hacking Now Cybersecurity Chief at Large Federal Contractor

If you have been following the Wikileaks saga, you might remember the inciden involving an IT executive named Aaron Barr and the activist hacker group known as Anonymous. It's a comically bizarre story, but it has larger implications that deserve to be taken very seriously.

DoD Suspension and Debarment: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) released the results of its audit of the suspension and debarment (S&D) process at the Services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

Errors Continue to Plague USASpending.gov

It looks like the data gremlins have struck again at USASpending.gov, the federal spending information website managed by the General Services Administration (GSA).

Kabul Embassy Guards Back in the Spotlight

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) continues to shine a light on the State Department’s controversial use of contractor security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Last Friday, she sent this letter pressing the Department for additional information about its plans and goals for the scandal-plagued contract.

Audit of Blackwater Iraq Contract Finds Improper Charges, Weak Enforcement

The State Department failed to punish Blackwater (now known as Xe) for significant violations of its Iraq security contract. This and other shortcomings were detailed in a joint audit report released Monday by the State Department Inspector General and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).

POGO Testifies in Congress Today

Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is holding a hearing provocatively titled “How Convicts and Con Artists Receive New Federal Contracts.”

More Bad News on the Iraq Contracting Front

It's Halloween today, and taxpayers should be afraid--VERY afraid. On Monday, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) released another report guaranteed to make you scream in terror.

Parsons Corporation in Iraq: Another Chapter in 'An Episodic Story of Waste'

Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction (SIGIR), told the Associated Press on Monday that his agency's 120 audits on Iraqi reconstruction projects "tell an episodic story of waste."