Administration Blocks Army's Effort To Increase Oversight Of Defense Contractors

Last fall, a blue-ribbon panel examining waste and fraud in defense contracts for Iraq recommended adding five active-duty generals to oversee purchasing and monitor contractor performance. Now that the Army is trying to implement the change, the White House's Office of Management and Budget has shot down the effort, giving no reason for rejecting the Army's proposal.

The additional generals would add a mere $1.2 million a year in personnel costs. By contrast, a Defense Contract Audit Agency found $4.9 billion "in overpricing and waste" in Iraq contracts since 2003, a figure that doesn't include an additional $5.1 billion in "expenses charged without documentation." In other words, the White House is blocking a reform that would cost only .012 percent of the $10 billion already lost to contract waste. Last year, President Bush opposed legislation that would limit no-bid contracts and increase congressional oversight of the most lucrative contracts. Despite his opposition, the House passed the bill with 347 votes, and the Senate approved it unanimously.