Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
April 2, 2008
Pg. 18
It is bizarre that the Defense Department relies on private contractors to handle oversight of private contractors ["Report Faults Pentagon's Reliance on Contractors," Business, March 27]. The Government Accountability Office report that highlighted the potential loss of government control and accountability also found that in-house personnel provide better oversight at less cost than outside contractors.
At a time when this country has a $9.4 trillion national debt, this issue cannot be ignored. The GAO reviewed just one Army office. It is not known how widespread and damaging this practice has become, but with $695 billion in defense spending this year, taxpayers must be assured that money for the military is going to its designated purposes, not to waste or fraud. This Pentagon practice of letting the fox guard the henhouse has got to stop.
BERNARD SANDERS, U.S. Senator (I-Vt.), Washington
The writer is a member of the Senate Budget Committee and one of the senators who requested the GAO report.
Editor's Note: The article by Dana Hedgpeth appeared in the Current News Early Bird, March 27, 2008.
April 2, 2008
Pg. 18
It is bizarre that the Defense Department relies on private contractors to handle oversight of private contractors ["Report Faults Pentagon's Reliance on Contractors," Business, March 27]. The Government Accountability Office report that highlighted the potential loss of government control and accountability also found that in-house personnel provide better oversight at less cost than outside contractors.
At a time when this country has a $9.4 trillion national debt, this issue cannot be ignored. The GAO reviewed just one Army office. It is not known how widespread and damaging this practice has become, but with $695 billion in defense spending this year, taxpayers must be assured that money for the military is going to its designated purposes, not to waste or fraud. This Pentagon practice of letting the fox guard the henhouse has got to stop.
BERNARD SANDERS, U.S. Senator (I-Vt.), Washington
The writer is a member of the Senate Budget Committee and one of the senators who requested the GAO report.
Editor's Note: The article by Dana Hedgpeth appeared in the Current News Early Bird, March 27, 2008.