FederalDaily.com > Bill Would Eliminate War Zone Security Contractors

FederalDaily - October 5, 2007

Bill Would Eliminate War Zone Security Contractors

In the wake of a Baghdad shootout involving Blackwater USA security guards that left 11 Iraqis dead, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., has introduced legislation that, over a five-year period, would phase out all use of such private security contractors. The scale of the Sept. 16 event and the deaths of the Iraqis, as well as the ensuing international attention, have led to investigations by the FBI and the State and Defense Departments. Schakowsky’s bill would phase out the use of private military contractors and replace them with U.S. military forces, Schakowsky said in an Oct. 2 statement. She pointed out that often private contractors conduct themselves as though they were outside the law, and noted that they do not have to answer to military officials and—under the current contracts—they enjoy immunity from the laws of the countries in which they operate. Under Schakowsky’s bill, beginning in 2012, the federal government would not be permitted to use private contractors for military, security, law enforcement or armed rescue functions—unless the president explains to Congress why the military cannot accomplish these functions. “The reckless and lethal activities of private security contractors have jeopardized our mission in Iraq and put our troops in harm’s way by increasing hostility against Americans,” she said. “Without a system in place to ensure accountability and oversight, we cannot allow contractors to continue to operate in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Meanwhile, the FBI announced that its investigative team being sent to Iraq will be guarded by State Department guards rather than by Blackwater personnel. To see more, go to: www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il09_schakowsky/pr_phaseoutcontractors_100207.shtml

Postal Inspectors Initiate Global Fraud Crackdown

The U.S. Postal Service announced on Oct. 3 that investigators have arrested 77 people as part of a global fraud crackdown which has since January intercepted more than $2.1 billion in counterfeit checks bound for the United States. The eight-month investigation involved schemes in Nigeria, the Netherlands, England and Canada, and has stopped more than half a million fake checks from being mailed to American victims. All fake check scams have the same common pattern, Postmaster General John Potter said in a statement. Scammers contact victims online or through the mail and send them checks or money orders as part of a supposed “prize package.” To collect their “winnings,” they are asked to wire back a “collection fee,” that often can be upwards of thousand of dollars. They only find out later that the “award checks,” are fake and worthless, Potter said. “The old adage still holds true: If someone offers you a deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Potter said. To see more, go to: www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_072.htm

Group Says Fraud No Deterrent To Federal Contracts

The United States Public Interest Group (US-PIRG) Education Fund has just issued a new report finding that numerous companies that have produced shoddy work or fraudulent practices in the recent past continue to be retained as contractors by the federal government, and continue to receive billions of federal dollars in fees. The report, Forgiving Fraud and Failure: Profiles in Federal Contracting, focuses on nine examples in which such companies won new, and frequently, no-bid federal contracts. Questionable practices included excessive secrecy, as well as “lax oversight, weak rules and lack of competition for the contracts,” according to the report. In numerous instances, the Army, Navy and Air Force made purchases from companies that had in the past “delivered faulty or untested equipment,” the report said. “These examples show a pattern of turning a blind eye to serious problems when spending public funds,” said said Gary Kalman, of US-PIRG. “Fool me once, shame on you. But these federal agencies have been fooled more than twice.” To see more, go to: http://uspirg.org/newsroom/money-politics/money--
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