WASHINGTON – Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma today said that an Inspector General report they requested recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shut down a popular contracting program.

            The Department of Transportation Inspector General reviewed the RESULTS program after two whistleblowers, one of whom was from Oklahoma, brought forward sweeping allegations to both Grassley and Coburn. 

            The Inspector General found wide deficiencies in the RESULTS program, one of three contracting programs used by the FAA.  As a result of inadequate controls by the FAA, job qualifications were not specified.  This led contractors to bill taxpayers for individuals with an associates degree as if they were an engineer.  Other findings showed contractors billing $300 an hour when the cost estimate was only $150 an hour, leading to significant overpayments.

            “The findings of the Inspector General are troubling and the recommendation to shut down such a highly used program like this is unheard of,” Grassley said.  “These contractors knew exactly what they were doing when they nickel and dimed the taxpayer to death.  To make matters worse, the FAA had not internal controls or oversight to even know that this was happening.”

            “The American taxpayer owes Debra Srite a debt of gratitude for her courage in blowing the whistle on waste and abuse in the contracting practices at the FAA.  Considering our spiraling national debt, costly war on terror, and reconstruction after a debilitating natural disaster, it is imperative Congress give oversight to ensure federal agencies spend taxpayer dollars in the most efficient manner possible,” Coburn said. “The Inspector General report revealed troubling contracting practices at the FAA and I will closely monitor the progress made toward correcting these serious and systemic problems.”

            A copy of the full report can be found at http://www.oig.dot.gov/ .