House Committee to Investigate Federal Procurement System

Yesterday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), announced [2] that it "is conducting a broad investigation of problems with the Federal procurement system." The announcement states that as part of the investigation, the committee is examining the suspicious events surrounding contracts awarded by the Army's Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) uncovered in a recent Washington Post exposé [3].

I blogged [4] on that sensational story of George Raymond and Catherine Campbell, noting their improper relationship that helped Campbell's defense firm rack up millions of dollars in contracts with Raymond's employer, CECOM; the questions those events sparked in an Army counsel named Barbara Strong; and the seeming retaliation for raising questions in Strong's subsequent dismissal. Last week, Rep. Towns sent a letter [5] to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board asking for all material related to Strong's case.

It is hard to tell where a broad investigation of the procurement system will lead, making it all the more interesting to see where the committee takes the CECOM matter. The case is a microcosm of the broken government contracting system, featuring improprieties ranging from contracting ethics to whistleblower protections. If the allegations in the Post article bear out, Rep. Towns and his committee are facing an opportunity to address some serious aspects of the culture of complacency currently dogging the federal contracting world.

Image by Flickr user wallyg [6] used under a Creative Commons license.