Congress Passes Defense Base Act Insurance Reforms

On May 15, 2008, the Committee held a hearing to examine the costs to taxpayers of Defense Base Act (DBA) Insurance. Federal law requires that all federal contractors working overseas obtain DBA insurance for their workers. Information obtained by the Committee revealed that from 2002 through 2007, the top four insurers made almost $600 million in excess profits from coverage provided under the DBA program. In late September 2008, the House and Senate passed S. 3001, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. This legislation required that the Department of Defense develop a new, more cost-effective strategy for obtaining Defense Base Act insurance for agency contractors.