House backs stronger requirements for contract building guards

Legislation prohibiting the Federal Protective Service from doing business with security guard companies owned or operated by felons passed the House Tuesday by a voice vote.

The bill (H.R. 3068) stems from revelations of financial mismanagement at Systems Training and Research Technologies (STARTECH), a company contracted by FPS to provide security guards for federal buildings in the Washington, D.C., area.

During a June hearing, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management heard testimony that Weldon Waites, the vice president of business development for STARTECH, and husband of the firm's owner, had mismanaged the company and failed to pay the contract guards for months.

Lawmakers also learned that Waites had been convicted of 29 felony counts of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering and had served almost five years in prison before becoming involved with STARTECH.

Federal law prohibits the government from doing business with companies owned by felons, but since ownership was listed under the name of Waites' wife, his criminal status did not come to the agency's attention during the contracting process. Despite not being the formal owner, the hearing made clear that Waites had primary control of the 75 percent of STARTECH his wife owned.

"Waites' testimony concerning his operational control of the company showed that federal law was being evaded because of loopholes," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., the bill's sponsor, in a statement.

The measure is intended to strengthen existing requirements and "prohibit proxy ownership by felons, including control or operation by an individual who has been convicted of a felony," the statement noted.

The legislation is one of several steps Norton has taken to ensure that security guard contracts for federal buildings are well-managed, and not only on the industry side. In the hearings, FPS also was accused of not making timely payments to contractors, in turn making it difficult for them to pay employees on time. According to Norton's statement, the subcommittee worked with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, the agency that houses FPS, to encourage improvements there as well.

Norton first announced the legislation in a joint conference with ICE chief Julie Myers in July. Myers pledged to reform the agency's own "chaotic" invoicing system and appoint an ombudsman to oversee the payment system and act as a liaison with the contract guard companies. The agency has since cleared the payment backlog, increased training for FPS contracting officers and developed a new blueprint for contract guard companies to help them manage invoicing procedures.