Pentagon Paid Billions To Contractors Suspended For Fraud


WASHINGTON -- The military paid a total of $285 billion to more than 100
contractors between 2007 and '09, even though those same companies were
defrauding taxpayers in the same period, according to a new Defense
Department report.

What's perhaps most shocking is that billions of dollars went to
contractors who had been either suspended or debarred for misusing
taxpayer funds. The Pentagon also spent $270 billion on 91 contractors
involved in civil fraud cases that resulted in judgments of more than $1
million. Another $682 million went to 30 contractors convicted of
criminal fraud.

The analysis was mandated by a provision that Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) inserted into the defense bill last year. The measure also
requested that the Defense Department recommend additional ways to
punish the violating contractors, but the Report to Congress on
Contractor Fraud concluded, "The department believes that existing
remedies with respect to contractor wrongdoing are sufficient."

"It has been said that insanity as doing the same thing over and over
and expecting different results," replied the Sanders staff in an
analysis of the findings. "It is clear that DOD's current approach is
not working, and we need a much more vigorous approach to dealing with
contractor fraud."

Sanders underscored the importance of reining in contractor abuse by
pointing to the U.S. fiscal situation, saying that the deficit cannot be
reduced without looking at the waste, fraud and abuse in the Pentagon's
budget.

"With the country running a $14 trillion national debt, my goal is to
provide as much transparency as possible about what is happening with
taxpayer money," he said. "The sad truth is that virtually all of the
major defense contractors in this country for years have been engaged in
systemic fraudulent behavior, while receiving hundreds of billions of
dollars of taxpayer money."

On Monday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) pressed the Joint Chiefs of Staff
to get the military's books in order, saying he would "continue to push
for a budget freeze of all base budget non-military personnel accounts
at the Defense Department until it complies with the law regarding
auditable financial statements."


huffingtonpost.com

Similar to your dealings with Ullico, Herr Krause?

On 02/02/2011 3:03 PM, Harryk wrote:
Pentagon Paid Billions To Contractors Suspended For Fraud


WASHINGTON -- The military paid a total of $285 billion to more than 100
contractors between 2007 and '09, even though those same companies were
defrauding taxpayers in the same period, according to a new Defense
Department report.

What's perhaps most shocking is that billions of dollars went to
contractors who had been either suspended or debarred for misusing
taxpayer funds. The Pentagon also spent $270 billion on 91 contractors
involved in civil fraud cases that resulted in judgments of more than $1
million. Another $682 million went to 30 contractors convicted of
criminal fraud.

The analysis was mandated by a provision that Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) inserted into the defense bill last year. The measure also
requested that the Defense Department recommend additional ways to
punish the violating contractors, but the Report to Congress on
Contractor Fraud concluded, "The department believes that existing
remedies with respect to contractor wrongdoing are sufficient."

"It has been said that insanity as doing the same thing over and over
and expecting different results," replied the Sanders staff in an
analysis of the findings. "It is clear that DOD's current approach is
not working, and we need a much more vigorous approach to dealing with
contractor fraud."

Sanders underscored the importance of reining in contractor abuse by
pointing to the U.S. fiscal situation, saying that the deficit cannot be
reduced without looking at the waste, fraud and abuse in the Pentagon's
budget.

"With the country running a $14 trillion national debt, my goal is to
provide as much transparency as possible about what is happening with
taxpayer money," he said. "The sad truth is that virtually all of the
major defense contractors in this country for years have been engaged in
systemic fraudulent behavior, while receiving hundreds of billions of
dollars of taxpayer money."

On Monday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) pressed the Joint Chiefs of Staff
to get the military's books in order, saying he would "continue to push
for a budget freeze of all base budget non-military personnel accounts
at the Defense Department until it complies with the law regarding
auditable financial statements."


huffingtonpost.com

So I wonder how John Wheeler and Ashley Turton figure into this?

--
Socialism is a great ideal as long as someone else pays for it. And when
no one is left to pay for it, they all can share nothing.