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That's the objection coming from House Republicans to Rep. Carolyn Maloney's (D-NY) contracting bill (HR 3033) that would debar federal contractors if they are found to have violated federal contracting rules or laws. "Right now, there is nothing stopping a fraudulent contractor from bouncing from federal agency to federal agency, fleecing U.S. taxpayers the whole way," Maloney said. "Congress can and should do more to fortify the federal procurement system, and show the door to contractors lining their pockets at the expense of hardworking taxpayers."

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chair Henry Waxman (D-CA) has sent a letter* to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking why federal contracting rules have been changed such that they would "exempt overseas contracts from a requirement that the contractor detect and prevent fraud and report it to the government." AP: The United States has spent more than $102 billion over the last five years to help rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. In that time, the Justice Department has uncovered at least $14 million in contract bribes in those two nations alone.

Following the flurry of the fourty-four budget resolution amendment roll call votes last week, this much is clear: repeal of the estate tax is now a non-starter in Congress. In years past, the budget resolution vote-a-rama has been an annual rite of repeal for the tax. But unless an amendment on it comes up when the resolution comes out of conference and hits the floor next month, 2008 may well be the first year since the current estate tax law was enacted in 2001 that full repeal of the tax has not even so much as come up for a vote in Congress. That's progress.