New Defense Bill Contains More Contracting SafeguardsSpeaking of Iraq contracting fiascos, TPM friend Laura Peterson of Taxpayers for Common Sense dug through the $471 billion defense bill President Bush signed last week and found some new oversight provisions included for future Iraq contracts.
The bill asks Defense Secretary Bob Gates to come up with regulations for incorporating private security contractors like Blackwater or DynCorp within the U.S. military chain of command in combat zones, a measure Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice agreed on last month. Perhaps more significantly, the bill prohibits any government agency from issuing new contracts for Iraq and Afghanistan after New Year’s deal “until a memorandum of understanding is signed between the heads of Defense, State and USAID clarifying their roles in overseeing and managing contracts.
There’s a catch, though, right? Sure there is. “This can be waived by the president,” Peterson adds.
There you have it: the contracting equivalent of a signing statement. FYI: TCS’s big earmark database is here.
