Sen. Webb says Congress will act to cut wartime waste

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) on Wednesday said Congress can be expected to act on recommendations from a commission that said the United States has lost at least $31 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan, through both ineffective government operations and waste, fraud and abuse related to private contractors.

Webb was responding to a report from the Commission on Wartime Contracting, which was created in 2008 and released its report Wednesday.

“As a member of the United States Senate and one of the two cosponsors of this legislation, I can say today that their recommendations will be listened to and the energy they are bringing to this is greatly appreciated,” Webb said.

He added that Congress will need some time to digest the report and its recommendations, but said it is clear to him that the recommendations will be turned into legislative proposals.

“Again, I would like to express my strong view that these recommendations will be listened to and, when appropriate, acted on by the United States Congress,” he said.

The commission found that the government is over-relying on private contractors, in part because there are simply too many contractors for the government to manage. Commission co-Chairman Michael Thibault listed several problems related to wartime contracting.

“We have found billions of dollars of waste stemming from a variety of shortcomings — poor decision-making, vague contract requirements, lack of adequately trained federal oversight people in the field, duplicative or unnecessary work, failure to revise or recompete contracts, unsustainable projects, inadequate business processes among contractors and delayed audits,” Thibault said. “There are many causes, and no simple solution.”

The commission made several recommendations, including phasing out contractors for some wartime tasks, and improving interagency coordination to stop waste, fraud and abuse.

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