Clean Government

The U.S. Department of Education erred from the outset of the Reading First program in focusing on selected reading programs and a single assessment in training sessions for state officials applying for a share of the $1 billion-a-year program, a report by the department’s inspector general concludes.

Federal officials also failed to screen a contractor for potential bias and conflicts of interest, says the report unveiled this week.

Those errors led to widespread confusion over the program’s requirements and fueled perceptions that there was an approved list of commercial texts and tests for use in Reading First. Moreover, the department did not ensure that employees and representatives followed legal restrictions that prohibit them from directing or influencing curriculum and assessment decisions.

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NASA does not follow its own guidelines in paying incentive awards on contracts, contributing to sometimes excessive payments to companies that miss schedule and cost targets, according to a new report.

The Government Accountability Office found problems in how NASA uses cost-plus-award-fee contracts, an arrangement in which outcome-based payments reward good performance. Almost half the contract dollars the agency spent from 2002 to 2004 were covered by that type of arrangement, auditors found (GAO-07-58).

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The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on illegal use of government funds in Iraq construction projects. The following is the text of the GAO summary:The Department of Defense (DOD) has relied extensively on contractors to undertake major reconstruction projects and provide support to its deployed forces, but these efforts have not always achieved desired outcomes. Further, the Iraqi government must be able to reduce violence, sustain reconstruction progress, improve basic services, and make a positive difference in the daily lives of the Iraqi people. This statement discusses (1) factors affecting DOD’s ability to promote successful acquisition outcomes on its contracts for reconstruction and for support to deployed forces in Iraq, (2) the deteriorating security situation and the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, and (3) issues affecting the Iraqi government’s ability to support and sustain future reconstruction progress. The testimony is based upon our work on Iraq reconstruction and stabilization efforts, DOD contracting activities, and DOD’s use of support contractors spanning several years. This work was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

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In questioning just how many taxpayer dollars have been wasted on bloated contracts to fight the war in Iraq, members of a congressional oversight committee refuted the notion Wednesday that this week’s hearings on private contracting had anything to do with partisan politics. And yet political contributions from defense contractors point to a clear party divide, the Center for Responsive Politics has found.Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which questioned defense contractors Wednesday, have received more than $946,000 from the defense sector since 2003, the year the war began. Eighty-three percent of the money has gone to Republicans on the committee.

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