Return to Article: Contracting problems cited for Iraq construction failures
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19096
It seems to me government contracting and fraud loses more money than any personnel system. The attention needs to be applied to fraudulent contracting issues, not changing the GS pay scale to the outlandish expensive National Security Personnel System. Fix what is broken and leave unbroken things alone. The NSPS will demand performance for pay; the same should be applied to contracts and contractors. If a contractor defrauds the government they should be fined, and never allowed to work for the government or in the United States!
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18995
I thought several years the Congress stopped or the GAO stopped the "design to contract" awards because they inherently created a bottomless pit of escalating and unconstrained cost. If there is no design and spec, how can one ever know what the construction requirement would be?
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18993
And, where's the contractor's accountability? 13 out of 14 projects? That's blatant defrauding of the government. Having incompetent contract writers is bad enough, but not to hold the contractor accountable only adds to the problems. They are simply war profiteers.
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18988
Very informative. From the tax-payer's point of view, there is so much in this article to be disgusted about -- I don't know where to start. The very fate of our mission in Iraq depended on this contractor's projects (meant to improve Iraqi police training and health care).
Perhaps the complete lack of security at the building sites demands some understanding of the contractor's failures. However, my one question is -- was this contract a product of competitive bidding, or was it of the "no-bid" variety?
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18981
"The newly completed buildings, which included cadet barracks, a library and laundry facilities, were built through a $75 million contract managed by the Army Corps of Engineers." You had to read no further than this to know there would be a problem. The Army Corps of Engineers is a bad outfit that cannot manage contracts or build structures that meet the need of the structure. The Army Corps only builds to the specs that fit the money available. The rebuilding in New Orleans is a perfect example! They (the Corps) did not admit the failure was their fault until well after the flooding when no one paid much attention. The Army Corps of Engineers was the cause -- not the hurricane! And they are doing the same thing again based on their own words! Now we see they have overseen a building and allowed the toilets to flush into the downstairs offices!
When are Congress and the Defense Department going to straighten out the Army Corps of Engineers and get rid of most of the tip management in the organization and rebuild the organization! Having the same old people do the same old thing is not going to solve the problems, and neither is having the same old people say they are going to change going to solve the problem. They need good managers and new engineers that have experience and a broader view of the world of construction beyond the physical structure to its impact on the community and the environment!
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