Senators Lieberman and Collins Decry DCAA Improprieties

Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins have issued a press release on the GAO report (pdf) substantiating allegations by Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) auditors that their superiors were changing their findings to fit the contractors they oversee.  From their release:

“GAO has substantiated serious whistleblower allegations that show that some DCAA supervisors were cutting corners and pressuring their subordinates to give more favorable audits to contractors than the auditors felt the contractors deserved,” Lieberman said. “This shows a blatant disregard for the safeguards that are supposed to be in place to ensure that contractors charge the government no more than a fair and reasonable price.”

Collins said: “Verifying the accuracy of the cost and accounting systems used by government contractors is essential to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.  The audits performed by DCAA are a fundamental part of sound government contracting. As Chairman Lieberman and I suspected when we requested that GAO first conduct an investigation of DCAA’s audit practices in August 2006, this GAO investigation raises serious concerns about DCAA’s ability to effectively fulfill its critical oversight mission. Further work is needed to determine the extent of the problem and what corrective actions are necessary to put DCAA back on the right track. ”

-- Nick Schwellenbach

Comments

[alex]

Connie, what a crock! So in your view a government buyer just cannot possibly make a wise purchasing decision without having the ability to demand from the seller every single piece of data that the buyer thinks he needs? Shows just how foolish all the rest of us, conducting our business without that authority....And how about some facts and figures to support your bald assertions on Gansler/Clinton responsible for workforce downsizing....With the DOD budget ballooning in the past 8 years--to where it is more than the rest of the entire world put together--you think the problem rests with the Clinton administration?!

[Axel]

Even though I have no expertise in this area, the previous brave and courages previous comment reply appears to have a concerned and articulate response that I though it may be worthwhile for me to again re-mention that proper and forthright oversight and accountability continue to appear as the best expression in respect and regard to our proper and forthright endeavors towards and within our Democracy.

[Connie the Contractor]

Nick –

The GAO report is really quite thin on substance. One great example that everyone seems to be making “hay” about is the allegation that a contractor had disapproved the scope of a DCAA audit and the auditor was forced to comply with the contractor’s wishes. That’s not what happened, and GAO’s report is disingenuous in this regard. DCAA, against its own wishes was forced by OSD, DCMA, and the Air Force, to put together a so-called Integrated Product Team (IPT), which included the contractor, for the purpose of conducting audits on the contractor. This policy was the brainchild of Jacques Gansler, the Clinton-era Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, and his Deputy, Stan Soloway, now President of the contractor lobbying group, the Professional Services Council. The IPT agreement spelled out the scope of the audit in advance, and when DCAA started the audit, the contractor disagreed with the what DCAA was doing, arguing that it violated the IPT agreement. OSD, DCMA and the Air Force concurred with the contractor, so DCAA was forced to limit the audit scope to what was in the IPT agreement. The contractor did not force the change in audit scope, the members of the IPT did, and DCAA was a very reluctant “partner” in that IPT (in fact, DCAA stopped using IPTs).

Also, Collins and Lieberman have some nerve criticizing DCAA. Their support of “acquisition reform” and limiting government access to contractor cost or pricing data has done more to bilk the taxpayer than anything some DCAA auditors might or might not have done. It reminds me of the recent report by Jacques Gansler finding that the acquisition workforce at DOD had been downsized too much. And who would know better about this than Gansler, as he was the person most responsible for the acquisition workforce downsizing during the Clinton Administration. Talk about hypocrisy.