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Risky Contract Vehicles
Related Resources (government documents and letters)
POGO Files
POGO Submits Brief Raising Concerns About GSA Contracts
September 2, 2010
Testimony of POGO's Scott Amey on “Acquisition Deficiencies at the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs”
December 16, 2009
Here We Go Again: No Accountability For Federal Credit Cards; Pushes Limits To New Highs (Or Lows)
April 9, 2008
Acquisition Panel Wraps Up: What does it all mean?
December 22, 2006
POGO urges Congress to review Hamilton Sundstrand’s 9-year no-bid commercial item spare parts contract
November 27, 2006
POGO urges Congress to review Hamilton Sundstrand's 9-year no-bid commercial item spare parts contract
November 27, 2006
POGO pushes for detailed guidance on contracting
September 5, 2006
POGO provides third set of recommendations and materials to the panel reviewing service contracting policies
December 6, 2005
White House Backs Down on $250K Government Purchase Card Limit
October 3, 2005
"Disaster Profiteering Act (H.R. 3766)" Makes Its Debut Seeks to Waive Taxpayer Protections & Competition on Government Contracts
September 16, 2005
Katrina Relief Bill: Contractors at the Pig Trough
September 8, 2005
POGO provides additional information to the panel reviewing the government's buying system
August 30, 2005
Acquisition Panel cuts off testimony about problems with the government’s buying system
August 19, 2005
Contracting Advisory Panel Deck Stacked; Panel Violates Federal Advisory Committee Act
January 31, 2005
New GAO Report: Contracts Promoted by Industry Waste Money
January 21, 2005
Share-in-Savings Contracts Circumvent Congress' Appropriations Authority and Hide Behind Contractor Proclaimed "Savings" to the government
August 31, 2004
Contractor Goody Bag Legislation Rears Its Ugly Head
April 8, 2003
Letter to the House Government Reform Committee urging them to oppose Share-in-Savings and the Digital Tech Corps Act
October 11, 2002
Army Purchase Card Used for Escort Service
July 17, 2002
Pick Pocketing The Taxpayer: The Insidious Effects of Acquisition Reform In the 1990s, corporate lobbyists mounted an offensive against what they saw as an overbearing government system of buying goods and services. Most of the reforms they sought, however, unraveled useful taxpayer protections created during the infamous defense contractor scandals of the 1980s. Under the rubric of streamlining government and increasing competition, taxpayer protections were rolled back using a platform of reforms known as "Acquisition Reform."
March 11, 2002
Now government watchdogs have issued a series of reports documenting an increase in several types of contractor ripoffs. Meanwhile, the much-touted benefits of "Acquisition Reform" have yet to materialize.
Defense Contractor Prices Skyrocket House Hearing Today on Legislation that Would Roll Back Taxpayer Protections
March 7, 2002
"Share-In-Savings" Contracts: Risky Business
June 13, 2001
POGO's Letter in Response to Raised Questions about Air Force/Boeing deal to make the C-17 Cargo Aircraft "Commercial"
March 23, 2001
Heavy Lifting for Boeing: Sweetheart Deal Helps Defense Contractor and Hurts Taxpayers A December 2000, the Air Force proposed a possibly illegal arrangement to declare Boeing's C-17 military cargo airlifter a "commercial item" -- even though the government is the only purchaser of this plane. The result would be reduced financial oversight of any future Air Force purchases of the cargo plane. The U.S. taxpayers would shoulder a huge sum to artificially create a commercial market for a private company to haul bulky and heavy "outsized" cargo.
March 1, 2001
The C-17 proposal is only the latest in a series of recent attempts by defense contractors to remove financial oversight from government auditors and at the same time improperly increase their profits. The costly plan would be footed by the taxpayers and would give preferential treatment to a private frieght hauler.
Pentagon Parts Prices Balloon Under Reinventing Government
September 2, 1999
Acquisition DeForm: A Study In Hasty Deregulation
October 27, 1997
Related Resources
Governmentwide Purchase Cards; Actions Needed to Strengthen Internal Controls to Reduce Fraudulent, Improper, and Abusive Practices
, GAO Report - GAO-08-333
March 1, 2008
Federal Contracting Regulations Subpart 6.3 - Other Than Full and Open Competition
, Federal Contracting Regulations
January 1, 2008
Emergency Response to Hurricane Katrina: Use of the Government Purchase Card
Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services
May 1, 2007
Purchase Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave DHS Highly Vulnerable to Fraudulent, Improper, and Abusive Activity
Government Accountability Office, GAO-06-1117
September 28, 2006
Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Report for the Deputy Secretary of Defense
, Department of Defense
January 1, 2006
POGO's Presentation before the Acquistion Advisory Panel
, Project On Government Oversight
May 17, 2005
Capital Financing: Partnerships and Energy Savings Performance Contracts Raise Budgeting and Monitoring Concerns
GAO-05-55, Government Accountability Office
December 1, 2004
Engagement Versus Disengagement: How Structural & Commercially-Based Regulatory Changes Have Increased Government Risks in Federal Government
by Elliott Cory Yoder, Graduate School of Business & Public Policy, Naval Postgraduate School
November 1, 2004
Share-in-Savings Contracting: The Big Lie
By Angela Styles, American Bar Association
October 1, 2004
GAO letter on Agencies' use of procurement flexibilities provided in the Homeland Security Act of 2002
David E. Cooper, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, GAO P.L. 107-296
March 21, 2004
"Share-in-savings" proposals promoted by contractors criticized by a former Bush Administration White House official in this letter to Washington Post.
by Angela Styles,
February 18, 2004
Memorandum For GSA Acquisition Workforce Associates
GSA's David Drabkin,
May 28, 2003
Guidelines for Using Emergency Procurement Flexibilities
Angela B. Styles, Administrator, Offiice of Management and Budget
May 1, 2003
PURCHASE CARDS - Navy Is Vulnerable to Fraud and Abuse but Is Taking Action to Resolve Control Weaknesses
GAO-02-1041, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
September 1, 2002
An assessment of today's Federal Procurement System
Stephen M. Daniels,
August 15, 2002
DoD Inspector General criticizes Rep. Tom Davis' "Services Acquisition Reform Act"
Robert J. Lieberman, Deputy Inspector General, Department Of Defense Inspector General's Office
March 12, 2002
Memorandum For ALMAJCOM/DRU/FQA (Contracting)
SAF/AQC,
October 5, 2001
LEAKED: Air Force talking points requested by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld
Col. Lockhart, Department of Defense
March 19, 2001
POGO in the News
Contract Overload: Multiple award procurements costing millions, With Jason Miller, Executive Editor, Federal News Radio, May 17, 2010
Military Restructures Afghanistan Police Contract; Blackwater-Linked Army Office Stripped of Control, By Spencer Ackerman, The Washignton Independent, March 25, 2010
Federal Employees Rack Up Big Bills, By J. Scott Orr, Parade Magazine, July 6, 2009
Acquisition reform recommendations run the gamut, By Robert Brodsky, Government Executive, June 16, 2009
Inside the Beltway; Eye For An Eye?, By John McCaslin , The Washington Times, May 29, 2009
Report chronicles abuse of federal travel cards, By Jim Abrams, The Washington Post, May 28, 2009
Report paints agencies as deadbeat travel card holders, By Robert Brodsky, Government Executive Magazine, May 28, 2009
Review shows NASA employees bought seemingly personal items, , The Associated Press, May 4, 2008
NASA employees big spenders on government credit, By Chase Davis, The Houston Chronicle, May 3, 2008
Federal Credit Cards Accountability - Feds Gone Wild, , Imperial Valley News, April 27, 2008
Inside the Beltway: Spending Spree, By John McCaslin, Washington Times, April 10, 2008
OMB Gets Tough on Misuse of Government Credit Cards, By Stephen Barr, Washington Post, April 10, 2008
OMB Gets Tough on Misuse of Government Credit Cards, By Stephen Barr, Washington Post, April 10, 2008
CareFlite charges on evacuees questioned, by Danny Robbins, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 2007
Panel releases draft acquisition reform proposals, by Jenny Mandel, Government Executive, December 22, 2006
Acquisition Advisory Panel issues recommendations, by Elise Castelli, Federal Times, December 22, 2006
United Technologies Air Force parts award suspended, by Jon Steinman and Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg.com, December 21, 2006
UTC unit target of a watchdog, by Jon Steinman, Hartford Courant, November 29, 2006
How the panel 'should have done more', , Federal Times, November 6, 2006
10 organizations worth watching, by Christopher J. Dorobek, Federal Computer Week, September 4, 2006
Homeland Security Spent Your Money On What?, by John Cochran, ABC News, July 20, 2006
Government Workers Abused Smart Pay, By Scott Tong, Marketplace Public Radio, July 19, 2006
Council withdraws controversial share-in-saving contracting plan, By Chris Gosier, Federal Times, February 8, 2006
Assessing Acquisition, by Jason Vest, Government Executive, November 23, 2005
Big Dreams, Big Rewards, by Griff Witte, Washington Post, May 30, 2005
Amey: Protecting their turf -- Relying on a system that is not working in the taxpayers' interest is appalling, by Scott Amey, Federal Computer Week, April 18, 2005
OMB picks acquisition advisors, by Michael Hardy, Federal Computer Week, February 1, 2005
Share-in-Savings contracts cost more, GAO says, , Federal Times, January 31, 2005
Swindling Uncle Sam, Danielle Brian, TomPaine.com, May 12, 2003
Navy Sailors Used Gov't Credit Cards to Hire Prostitutes, Associated Press, Foxnews.com, October 8, 2002
Is Pentagon's Credit Card Spending Defenseless?, with John Stossel, ABC 20/20, October 4, 2002
Reforms Curb Oversight Cutting Red Tape Can Increase Waste, Oped by Danielle Brian, Federal Times, April 8, 2002
Reforms Need Reforming: Commercial Acquisition Fails To Cure Overpricing, Op-ed by POGO's Marcus Corbin, Defense News, July 13, 1998
