OFFICE OF SENATOR WEBB: Webb & McCaskill Ask Secretary of Defense to Review Findings, Address Immediate Concerns Identified in Wartime Contracting Commission Report
- Findings Underscore Commission’s Need and Charter

FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR WEBB

June 10, 2009

Contact:
Jessica Smith (Webb), 202-228-5185
Adrianne Marsh (McCaskill), 202-228-5258        


Washington, DC– Following today’s release of the Commission on Wartime Contracting’s interim report to Congress, Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to review the Commission’s findings and address a number of critical issues of “immediate concern.”   

Prompt Department of Defense action on these time-sensitive issues is needed “to avoid undermining U.S. objectives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to prevent wasting more U.S. tax dollars,” wrote the two senators responsible for creating the Commission through legislation they introduced in 2007.

  The independent, bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting is charged with evaluating and addressing the systemic problems associated with the federal government’s greatly expanded reliance on wartime-support, reconstruction, and private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.   

“The report’s identification of areas in need of significant—and, in some cases, immediate—Department of Defense attention underscores the importance of the Commission’s charter,” said Senator Webb. “We tasked the Commission with uncovering waste, fraud and abuse in U.S. wartime support contracts. With its interim report, the Commission has taken a noteworthy step forward in returning accountability and more rigorous oversight back into our contracting process.”  

Webb continued: “I hope that the Defense Department will carefully review the Commission’s report and work to resolve the more immediate problems with an appropriate sense of urgency.”   

“This report represents an important first step for the Commission and these initial findings must be heeded,” said Senator McCaskill. “I think the hardest work is ahead for the Commission as it continues its endeavor to uncover the root causes of fraud, waste and abuse in wartime contracting, point to those who need to be held accountable and make specific recommendations for how to make sure we never get in a situation like Iraq and Afghanistan again.”

  The Commission determined, in part, that the following areas of concern require immediate attention:  

·        The drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq risks incurring enormous waste, which could range from completion of work that may not need to be done, to poorly controlled handling and disposition of U.S. government property;

·        There is a need for greater accountability in the use of foreign subcontractors who may not be accountable to U.S. governmental authority;

·        The effectiveness of contractor support of expanded U.S. operations in Afghanistan is compromised by the failure to extract and apply lessons learned from Iraq, particularly those relating to poor interagency coordination;

·        The Department of Defense should accelerate its plans to establish a contracting command in Afghanistan; and

·        The Department of Defense should take immediate steps to ensure that contractors providing security for U.S. operating bases are well trained and equipped to provide strong force protection to our military.   

The Commission’s report to Congress also identified major areas of emphasis offering the greatest promise for significant reform. The report can be found online at: http://www.wartimecontracting.gov/default.htm     

In a separate letter, the senators also expressed their appreciation to the Commission’s co-chairs, other commissioners, and professional staff for their “hard work and achievement in producing a commendable interim report.”

  To read the full letter of Senators Webb and McCaskill to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, please visit: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=314249&  

To learn more about the Commission on Wartime Contracting, please visit: http://www.wartimecontracting.gov/  or contact Clark Irwin at: (703) 696-9362.

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