New Letter to Policymakers: Increasing Public Access to CRS Reports

By Bryan Rahija

The gist: The Congressional Research Service (CRS) needs a director who will work with Congress to bring free, online public access to the reports it generates.

Recipient(s): James Billington, the Librarian of Congress.

Signees: POGO and nearly 40 other groups.

Key passage: "Predictably, to fill the public void left by the CRS, several private companies now sell copies of these reports at a price. This means that non-confidential CRS reports are readily available to lobbyists, executives and others who can afford to pay. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people lack the information necessary to even request reports from their Members of Congress."

Key stat: American taxpayers spend over $100 million a year to fund the CRS.

Key quotation: "A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." (James Madison)

Background info: The Congressional Research Service provides nonpartisan research and analysis to Congress. CRS's current director, Daniel P. Mulhollan, announced earlier this year that he planned to retire in April.

Read the coalition's letter to James Billington.

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

Related:

• Quote of the Day: January 24, 2011
• Hopefully Coming Soon: CRS Access For All, and Other Opengov Initiatives from Congress
• Is This the Year Congress Improves Public Access to CRS Reports?
• Wikileaks Plugs Gaps of Missing CRS Reports

"When Will All This Silliness Stop?"

By Bryan Rahija

One reader weighs in on the prices of F-35 variants:

Aviation Weekly on December 16, 2010 did an article on F-35 “target prices.”  Bottom line is that prices for these things are all over the place.

According to the Joint Program Office (JPO), the recently signed LRIP 4 contract (LRIP 4 is the first “fixed-price” incentive contract for the F-35) sets target prices as follows:
•  F-35A (CTOL)    $111.6 million
•  F-35B (STOVL)     $109.4 million
•  F-35C (carrier)    $142.9 million

These prices did not include the F135 engine, as Pratt & Whitney is still negotiating its LRIP 4 contract.

LRIP 3 price at around $19 million for the CTOL engine and $38 million for the STOVL engine including Rolls-Royce lift system. Pratt offered a price reduction of at least 10% for LRIP 4 and has likely been pushed lower as it has also gone to a fixed-price contract.

But here is the real kicker.  The “fixed-price” contract is not really a fixed price contract. This is where it gets fun.

Under the terms of the LRIP 4 contract, Lockheed and the Pentagon will share any costs above the target price 50:50, with a ceiling on what the government would have to pay of 120%. So a:
•    F-35A ($111.6M) could cost the DoD up to $133.9 million (additional $22.3M)
•    F-35B ($109.4M) up to $131.3 million (additional $21.9M)

(Again, that excludes engines). Beyond that Lockheed carries the cost.

Rest assured, as the R&D gets dragged out even more and more and more countries decide these costs are unaffordable (as any common sense, fiscally responsible nation will do), the unit costs to the American taxpayer will sky rocket. Then, when the program looks like it is really in trouble, we will all hear the magic words…

“But we already have all these sunk costs”

Bottom line is Lockheed doesn’t care.  This is their business model. They will have made a ton of money off of the $40B + R&D phase (like they did with the Presidential helicopter) and enough senior military and DOD civilian retirees will be employed (or promised employment) that the gold will keep rolling in. Of course, then we will get to the fun part which will be all the added money Lockheed will get paid to fix the aircraft so that they can do what they were supposed to do in the first.  Don’t forget.  This is the company that sold a “commercial-off-the-shelf C-130J that was going to cost the same as the C-130 it would replace (somewhere between $30-$40M) that so far has cost the American taxpayer over $90M per aircraft to fix so they can actually be deployed for combat.

When will all this silliness stop?

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

Morning Smoke: Commission Considers Tools for Contractor Accountability

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the previous day's investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor.

Hearing: Wartime Contracting Commission hearing to examine government tools for holding contractors accountable
POGO's Scott Amey testifies on Panel 1.

Commission calls for reduced dependence on wartime contractors
Sarah Chacko, Federal Times

Army Says Feds' Continuing Resolutions Have Hurt Modernization
Paul McLeary, Ares

‘Illegal Psyop’ Neither Illegal Nor Psyop, General’s Lawyer Ruled
Noah Shachtman and Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room

Boeing’s Tanker Win Is a Small Taxpayer Win
Benjamin H. Friedman, Cato @ Liberty

'Orphan wells' leave taxpayers on hook
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Houston Chronicle

Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers
Ian Urbina, The New York Times

American CIA contractor appears in Pakistani court
Babar Dogar, Associated Press

Soldiers May Be Taking Over Jobs Currently Performed by Contractors
Eric Beidel, National Defense Magazine

Whistle stop
New York Post: Letters

The Morning Smoke: Is the White House Hiding Lobbyist Meetings?

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the previous day's investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor.

White House meets lobbyists off campus
Chris Frates, Politico

Popping the White House Visitor Logs Bubble
John Wonderlich, Sunlight Foundation

Rolling Stone's military psy-ops expose: 5 takeaways
The Week

Army to probe report that psyops were used on senators
Sara Sorcher, National Journal

Did a Top General Run Psy Ops on Senators?
Spencer Ackerman and Noah Shachtman, Danger Room

Troops or Private Contractors: Who Does Better Supplying Our Troops During War?
Charles M. Smith, Truthout

Boeing Wins Contract to Build Air Force Tankers
Christopher Drew, The New York Times

Regulators Decry Proposed Cuts in C.F.T.C. Budget
Ben Protess, NYT Deal Book

BP Tried to Trick Scientists into Underestimating the Spill
Brian Merchant, Treehugger

A Blank Check for Cleaning Up Madoff's Mess
Floyd Norris, The New York Times

The backstory behind Issa subpoening Napolitano: DHS dragging its feet
Jonathan Strong, The Daily Caller

GSA names new acquisition chief
Robert Brodsky, Government Executive

Law Profs Urge Ethics Rules for Supreme Court Justices
Tony Mauro, The Blog of Legal Times

Who Owns Patents Generated By Federal Dollars?
Ed Silverman, Pharmalot

Higher Standards for Auditors?
IEC Journal

Commerce Dept. report clears U.S. scientists in 'climategate'
Brian Vastag, Washington Post

 

Commission Concerned with Contingency Contracting

By Scott Amey

Losses from waste, fraud, and abuse "run into the tens of billions" when it comes to federal contracting for contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan (CWC). The report, entitled "At what risk? Correcting over-reliance on contractors in contingency operations," is the CWC’s 2^nd interim report and its 5^th report overall.

The report highlights the government’s heavy use of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan and the resulting problems. The report found, for example, that urgency, uncertainly, and shifting circumstances lead to waste. Specifically, the CWC found that contracts weren’t well planned, administration and oversight were lacking, and the acquisition workforce is understaffed. “When government agencies lack experienced and qualified workers to provide oversight, the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse in contract performance increases exponentially,” the report concluded.

The CWC mainly focuses on three agencies (Defense, State, and USAID mostly) and contractors. Here are a few of the report’s highlights:

Rolling Stone Psy-Ops Article Exposes Another Breakdown in Military Whistleblower Protections (UPDATED)

By Nick Schwellenbach

Rolling Stone’s Michael Hastings has written another article that’s gone viral. Here’s how it opens:

The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in “psychological operations” to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned—and when an officer tried to stop the operation, he was railroaded by military investigators.

The orders came from the command of Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, a three-star general in charge of training Afghan troops—the linchpin of U.S. strategy in the war. Over a four-month period last year, a military cell devoted to what is known as "information operations" at Camp Eggers in Kabul was repeatedly pressured to target visiting senators and other VIPs who met with Caldwell. When the unit resisted the order, arguing that it violated U.S. laws prohibiting the use of propaganda against American citizens, it was subjected to a campaign of retaliation.

“My job in psy-ops is to play with people’s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave,” says Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, the leader of the IO unit, who received an official reprimand after bucking orders. “I’m prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you’re crossing a line.”

The idea that the military is misdirecting resources intended to help us fight the war to instead manipulate Congress is bad enough. But Hastings’ piece could also point to a systemic weakness in military whistleblower protections. As the story goes, the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) failed to recognize Lt. Col. Holmes as a whistleblower whose disclosures were protected:

Morning Smoke: The Real Story Behind the Government Insourcing Debate

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the previous day's investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor.

Pentagon Opposes 'Insourcing' Ban
Pratap Chatterjee, Center for American Progress

SEC's Top Lawyer Sued in Madoff 'Clawback' Case
Chad Bray and Jean Eaglesham, Wall Street Journal

House Investigates Heparin Crisis
Alicia Mundy, Wall Street Journal

Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators
Michael Hastings, Rolling Stone

DoD Rapidly Moving Ahead to Create a Relationship With the Private Sector
Kevin Coleman, Defense Tech

Who's right: Sole-source to Sikorsky or competition for CVLSP?
Stephen Trimble, The DEW Line

House Adds $13 Million for TARP Watchdog
Patrick O'Connor, Washington Wire

Tips to SEC Whistleblower Program Reach 168
Aruna Viswanatha, Main Justice

Morgan Stanley Hires Harold Ford
Maria Woehr, TheStreet

Study: One-fourth of federal websites surveyed rank high in transparency
Alice Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week

Moammar Gadhafi, Contract Administrator
Tom Shoop, FedBlog

DSS Director: Defense Security Service "Remiss" in "Fundamental Oversight Responsibilities"

By Nick Schwellenbach

“We have been remiss in our fundamental oversight responsibilities to the Department and the U.S. Government,” read suggested talking points for a speech by Stanley Sims, the new Director of the Defense Security Service (DSS), at a conference last week. POGO obtained the talking points from a Defense Department source who criticized the rationale for this and other DSS conferences scheduled in the near future given the federal government’s fiscal bind.

DSS is the government agency primarily responsible for ensuring that government contractors have the systems in place to protect classified information. According to DSS’s website, “DSS provides the military services, Defense Agencies, 23 federal agencies and approximately 13,000 cleared contractor facilities with security support services.” Last week, from February 14th through the 18th, DSS held a conference at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

Quote of the Day

By Bryan Rahija

The Lexington Institute's Loren Thompson on the defense industry and the Tea Party:

“The defense industry doesn’t know what to make of the Tea Party. It is accustomed to dealing with politicians motivated mainly by the desire to get reelected. The notion of legislators driven solely by an ideological agenda is hard to assimilate.”

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

Image by Flickr user Bennett V, used under Creative Commons License.

Morning Smoke: Executing Pentagon Plan to Save Billions Will Be Difficult

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the previous day's investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor.

 

Pentagon gambles on savings
Marcus Weisgerber, Federal Times

Veteran Republicans fear Tea Party, liberals will unite to cut defense
John T. Bennett, The Hill

For the S.E.C., Problems of Time and Money
Peter J. Henning, DealBook

Hiding Details of Dubious Deal, U.S. Invokes National Security
Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, The New York Times

Hours before opening, Obama jobs panel largely a mystery
Josh Gerstein, Under the Radar

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal Of Finra Merger Case
Suzanne Barlyn, Dow Jones Newswires

Commission critical of war-zone contracting
Richard Lardner, The Washington Post

Former Congressman to Join Morgan Stanley
Susanne Craig, DealBook

Armed Services member Bartlett: Emails point to illegal Pentagon lobbying
John T. Bennett, The Hill

FDA Warns Sanofi For Failing To Report Side Effects
Ed Silverman, Pharmalot

Kenneth Feinberg's releases go too far, violate oil spill law, plaintiffs argue
David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

The "Secret Five": Either Jon Kyl, Mitch McConnell, James Risch, Jeff Sessions, or David Vitter Secretly Killed the Whistleblower Bill
Dylan Blaylock, The Whistleblogger

Legal Document Sheds Light on Latest KBR Fraud Lawsuit

By Neil Gordon

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced it had intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against KBR filed by a former employee, James A. Brady III, in connection with KBR's LOGCAP III (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) contract with the U.S. Army in Iraq.

The government has not filed a complaint yet, so Justice's announcement is short on details. However, POGO obtained the complaint Brady filed when he brought the lawsuit nearly four years ago.

According to his complaint, Brady worked as an Operations Specialist for KBR in Iraq from March 2005 to October 2006. He claims that KBR overbilled the government $80 million on a subcontract with a Turkish company called Yuksel to perform operations and maintenance work at Army camps in Iraq. Of that amount, Brady alleges that at least $31 million worth of property and materials purchased under the subcontract was lost--air conditioners, refrigerators, generators and motor vehicles, among other valuable items, just vanished into the desert air. Brady also claims he was fired in retaliation for bringing his concerns to the attention of KBR and Army investigators, although KBR eventually reinstated him and transferred him to Afghanistan to work as an Operations Coordinator.

The government will file its own complaint sometime in the next 60 days. It will be interesting to see if the underlying allegations have changed since Brady filed his lawsuit back in February 2007.

According to our Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, KBR has six instances of government contract fraud since 2002 for which the company has been assessed nearly $59 million in fines and penalties. Thirteen of KBR's 23 resolved instances are related in some way to its operations in Iraq.

Neil Gordon is a POGO Investigator

Special Interest Snow Job

By Mandy Smithberger

Our creative friends at the Sunlight Foundation have put together a game to allow citizens to virtually fight special interests. In the game, "Capitol Defense," players throw snowballs "to stop lobbyists in their tracks and protect Congress's reserves of willpower." Each level includes Center for Responsive Politics data telling players how much different interest groups spent this election cycle, with lobbyists and lawyers at Level 1 spending roughly $22.8 million, Level 2 labor interests spending around $33.4 million, Level 3 construction interests spending $42.6 million, and Level 5 agrobusiness spending $88.5 million (that's as far as this POGO staffer got since she needs more than snowballs to fight special interests).

What might be bad news for players beyond the beltway, though, is that you have to wait until the lobbyists get pretty close to the Capitol if you want to get a kill.

Mandy Smithberger is POGO's National Security Investigator