Washington, DC – Legislation approved
by the Senate today requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to
publicly justify the awarding of any Iraqi reconstruction contract
without an open and competitive bidding process. Senators Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.),
Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) won acceptance
of their bipartisan legislation, the Sunshine in Iraqi Reconstruction
amendment, in the Senate defense authorization bill.
The Senators’ amendment requires justifying
documents for any non-competitive bidding process conducted under
the oversight and direction of the Secretary of Defense or the Office
of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in the Office of the
Secretary of Defense to be published in the Federal Register or
Commerce Business Daily or otherwise made available to the public
no later than 30 days after the contract is signed. The Senate unanimously
approved the amendment late last night.
The cost of reconstruction in Iraq, including
the rebuilding of schools, roads and other infrastructure, could
reach $100 billion dollars in the coming months. This sunshine amendment
requires public accountability for the use of secretive bidding
procedures that may expose taxpayers to additional cost. In September
2000, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found that closed-bid
and no-bid contracts can cost taxpayers more, specifically citing
cost overruns on logistical and engineering projects involving the
U.S. military. DOD and other Federal agencies have already awarded
billions of dollars’ worth of Iraqi reconstruction contracts
with limited or no competition.
“By insisting on sunshine in this contracting
process, the Senate has done the right thing by every American taxpayer,”
said Wyden. “In these tough economic times, the government
simply mustn’t continue to award billion-dollar contracts
behind a veil of secrecy, with no accountability to the public.”
“A tremendous amount of money will be
spent on contracts to rebuild Iraq,” said Collins, who chairs
the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. “Full and open
competition in awarding these contracts helps to ensure the best
price and the highest quality for these investments. In cases where
competition is curtailed, federal agencies should have to make their
justification public. This legislation will shine a spotlight on
the contracting process to ensure that it is fair and delivers the
best value to the American taxpayer.”
“It is the responsibility of Congress
to ensure that the funds we appropriate for reconstruction in Iraq
are spent in a fair and open manner. This amendment provides an
element of accountability so that Congress and the American people
can have a full understanding of how these contracts are being awarded,”
said Clinton.
“The reconstruction of Iraq will be an arduous and expensive
endeavor, and much of the burden will likely fall on the shoulders
of the American taxpayers. Since they are going to foot the bill,
the American people should know how the money will be spent,”
said Byrd, who is Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“This legislation will help to ensure greater openness in
the process of reconstructing Iraq. If the Administration wants
to award no-bid contracts, it must explain to the American people
why.”
“The federal government will spend billions
of dollars on contracts to help rebuild Iraq,” said Lieberman.
“When this amount of money is on the line, taxpayers deserve
to know exactly how their hard-earned dollars are spent, why particular
companies receive favorable treatment, and why cost-saving measures
have not being taken. This amendment will bring an illuminating
ray of sunshine into the process.”
The published information required by the Senators’
amendment also includes the amount of the contract, a brief description
of the contract’s scope, a list of companies selected for
the closed bidding process and explanations of how and why the agency
chose those contractors. The publication of this information, along
with the justifying documents for the closed bidding process, will
allow companies who might have been able to compete for Iraqi reconstruction
work to challenge the non-competitive process if the standards for
exempting contracts from competition are not met.
The amendment does include national security
protections for sensitive information. The head of a department
or agency would be able to withhold publication of any classified
document or redact any part of a document that contains classified
information.
Legislation similar to the Senators’
amendment has been included in the House version of the defense
authorization bill.
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