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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Senators Ask SecDef Gates: WTF?
Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Tester (D-MT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to formally investigate why the Army relived the Defense Contract Audit Agency of its duty to audit the Army's largest Iraq reconstruction contract.
The request for inquiry comes after the Senate Democratic Policy Committee heard testimony from Charles M. Smith, the former official in charge of overseeing the multi billion-dollar contract with KBR. Smith testified that when he refused to OK $1 billion in unsubstantiated charges from KBR, the Army reassigned him (effectively ending his career) and, in an unprecedented move, hired an inexperienced private contractor to perform the audit work.
We are troubled that the Army Sustainment Command would transfer the review of questioned costs on the single largest contract in the Iraq war from its own auditors to a private contractor. We are particularly disturbed that this would be done as part of an apparent effort to excuse KBR's performance problems.
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Given the seriousness of the allegations raised by Mr. Smith, we urge you to promptly investigate the circumstances of the Army Sustainment Command's hiring of contractor RCI to replace DCAA in the review ofKBR's questioned costs. If this was part of an effort to protect KBR and make sure the company was paid for questionable costs, we urge you to take appropriate disciplinary action.
Posted by Craig Jennings
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