More Contractors Dying in Afghanistan, but Total Remains Elusive

Contractors Training Afghan Police Recruits

An article published Wednesday by ProPublica examines a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on the government's insurance coverage of overseas contractors. Known as the Defense Base Act (DBA), the program is also the only tool for the government to keep track of contractor deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. As ProPublica notes, the number of contractor deaths over the last six months is staggering, but, because DBA chronically undercounts fatalities, the true total is unknown.

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Is 'High Road' Contracting Gaining Momentum?

The Zorbing Ball

Recent press reports have indicated that the "high road" contracting process may be gaining momentum, possibly foretelling adoption of the policy by the Obama administration. Last week, Government Executive published several stories on the topic, including an article on congressional members requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the costs and benefits of adopting "high road" contracting guidelines, and a story outlining documents obtained by GovExec that they purport give further details on how the administration might implement such a policy.

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OMB Tackles 'Inherently Governmental'

Public Employee

On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed new guidelines for outsourcing government work to contractors. The proposed policy letter attempts to clarify the thorny issue of what exactly constitutes an inherently governmental function, or a task that only a government employee should perform. This guidance is long in coming, as the president's memorandum on contracting directed OMB to release a plan late last summer.

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Legislators Reintroduce Bill to End Government's Use of Security Contractors

A Private Security Contractor in Afghanistan

Yesterday morning, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) held a press conference to announce the reintroduction of legislation to phase out the government's use of private security contractors in war zones. The Stop Outsourcing Security Act, which Schakowsky and Sanders originally introduced in 2007, seeks to prevent contractors in war zones from performing "mission critical or emergency essential functions," including security, military and police training, interrogation, and intelligence.

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Iraq and Afghanistan Get an Extra Dose of Oversight

An Army of One

The folks over at Government Executive.com have the scoop on the Commission on Wartime Contracting's (CWC) recent move to open two field offices in Southwest Asia. The Iraq office, which is currently staffed by one expert and awaiting a second, is located in central Baghdad. Two experts staff the Afghanistan office, located at Bagram Air Field, which is roughly 25 miles outside the capital of Kabul.

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Blackwater/Xe, the Company You Can't Get Rid of

Blackwater, Go Home

Yesterday, Justin Elliot at Talking Points Memo published an interesting piece on the never-ending saga that is the government's relationship with the company formerly known as Blackwater. Despite the scandals, investigations and indictments that have recently plagued Xe – and the resultant loss of a license to operate in Iraq and the cancellation of several security contracts overseas – the company continues to perform work for the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Pentagon in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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OMB Releases Contracting Guidance

The Office of Management and Budget has just released two long-awaited contracting reform memos as part of President Obama's larger efforts to overhaul federal contracting. The memos outline ways to increase competition while reducing risks for the government and about strategic planning for the acquisition workforce.

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Asleep on the Job: Where are the Consequences for Contractor Misconduct?

Asleep on the Job

In what may be the next big defense contracting scandal, an Associated Press story released this morning relates some troubling findings from a recent investigation. AP reporters uncovered serious flaws with the U.S. Army's $2.7 billion contract with Combat Support Associates (CSA), a contractor tasked with supporting U.S. troops at bases throughout Kuwait. After months of bad press and congressional hearings into the defense contracting industry, you would think this investigation might provide just that little extra momentum for Congress or the federal government to clean up this mess, but don't count on it.

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Obama Names Gordon to Run OFPP

Daniel Gordon

On Friday, President Obama named Daniel Gordon, currently the deputy general counsel of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), as his nominee to run the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). Gordon has been at GAO for 17 years and has also worked as the managing associate general counsel for the GAO's Procurement Law Division and the associate general counsel and senior attorney for the Procurement Law Division. At first glance, Gordon seems like a real solid pick for this position who will certainly have a lot on his plate if he is confirmed by the Senate.

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OMB Watch Submits Comments on Contracting Reform

White HouseOn March 4, President Obama released a Memorandum on Government Contracting, which instructed the OMB and other federal agencies to improve and strengthen federal contracting practices, including seeking input from the public. In response to this effort, OMB Watch submitted comments and recommendations on necessary reforms to the federal contracting system.

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