Hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee - How to Strengthen Accountability for Private Contractors

Statement

Citing the case of a private contractor that was never held accountable for negligence in the death of a U.S. servicemember, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill used a Senate hearing today to renew her call for the federal government to stop doing business with contractors responsible for wrongdoing.

McCaskill quizzed a panel of experts in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing about how to strengthen accountability for private contractors by expanding the government's use of suspension and debarment for bad contractors--something McCaskill has championed during her time in the Senate.

"Shouldn't we just, as a matter of character of our nation, say that if you're indicted like Halliburton was for bribery in Africa--if you're indicted for criminal activity in connection with your government contracting activities--that you're done with us," asked McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. "Shouldn't we just make that a rule? Isn't that a good standard for us to have?"

McCaskill specifically cited the case of Lieutenant Colonel Dominic "Rocky" Baragona, who was killed in Iraq in 2003 when his Humvee was struck by a supply truck driven by an employee of the contractor Kuwait Gulf & Link Transport Company (KGL). At the time of Baragona's death, KGL was under contract with the U.S. Army to deliver supplies into Iraq.

Since the accident, the company has used the inability to establish jurisdiction in U.S. courts as a means to avoid accountability. The company has never been suspended or debarred and has faced no consequences from the Army or the Department of Defense, instead securing approval by the Department of Defense to compete as a "prime vendor" for a food services contract potentially worth up to $9.4 billion. McCaskill chaired a Senate hearing that looked into KGL in 2009.

The U.S. Commission on Wartime Contracting--created through legislation introduced by McCaskill and Sen. Jim Webb--recently submitted its final report to Congress, which included a recommendation that federal agencies increase the use of suspensions and debarments for contractors. The Commission also recommended that agencies require a written rationale for not pursuing a proposed suspension and debarment.

In response to a request by McCaskill and other members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) also recently released a report on federal agencies' use of suspension and debarment. The GAO recommended that federal agencies take specific steps to improve their suspension and debarment programs by assigning dedicated staff, developing guidance, and promoting the referral of cases.

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